Where am I?
by bmidd111
Summary: I was just a normal human woman, living my life. I had never believed in reincarnation, especially not into other worlds. But that is exactly what's now happened to me. Somehow when I died, I found myself being reborn in the Steven Universe world. And not as a random side character, no, I had to be reborn as one half of the most bad-ass fusion in the show- I was reborn as Ruby. AU
1. Chapter 1

_(Unknown's POV)_

The first thing I noticed after I died was darkness. Strange, considering my consciousness was supposed to be non-existent after death. But it was a strange darkness. I felt that I didn't have limbs, but I _did_ have a sense of self. I existed in this strange nothing while still being for a long time, until I felt something welling up within me. It was so strong. I felt like if I didn't let it out I would explode. So I let the energy inside myself out. It stretched out, out, and suddenly I felt like I was bigger than before- much bigger. I also felt like I was being crushed. I panicked and flailed my arms wildly- arms! I had arms! I began frantically digging through a substance I recognized as dirt from the texture.

I had no idea how far down I was or why I was underground, but I desperately wanted to get out, to be in the fresh air. Eventually I felt cold air on my hands. Continuing to dig, my arms soon broke free of the dirt. Pushing the dirt away faster I finally broke through the dirt and felt light on my face as well as my head. I shielded my eyes with my hands, the light too bright for me after spending who knows how long without it. Suddenly something caught my attention. My arms were red. Like, bright, real red. Staring at my arms I turned them around to examine them better. In the palm of my left hand was a square cut ruby Gem. I started at it for a long moment, before slowly pushing myself into a sitting position.

Before I could have a good look around, I saw someone walking towards me. It was a large burly woman with bright orange skin and black stripes all over her body. Her hair was midnight black and her eyes were light red. She stepped up to me and looked me over. Raising an eyebrow, she frowned, "well?" she asked, and her voice seemed to grate against my ears. I cocked my head to the side, "yes?". The large woman sighed, "oh great, a defective one," she moaned, "just my luck". I frowned, defective? "follow me" she ordered. I slowly got to my feet as the woman turned and I saw a triangular cut orange and black stripped gemstone on her arm. A Tiger's-Eye. I began to follow the Tiger's-Eye through the area which I now saw was a large canyon built into black rock.

Walking through the canyon, I saw multiple human shaped holes in the walls. By now I had guessed that I had been reborn into the world of Steven Universe. Not only that, but I was a Ruby. The Tiger's Eye led me up a set of stone stairs built into the canyon wall until we reached what seemed to be the top. When we reached the top of the canyon, I saw a strange device. It was like a weight and measurement device from Earth. The Quartz stopped in front of the device and gestured to it, "step onto the Analyzer" she ordered. I looked at the machine and did as I was told. As I stood on it, a beam of blue light came out of the machine and scanned me. "Ruby, Facet 1K2 Cut 3ND" a robotic voice said. The Tiger's-Eye turned back to me, "hmf, this way" she said, leading me away from the machine.

After a large amount of walking we reached what seemed to be some kind of elevator. The Quartz stepped onto a platform and I followed, not wanting her to think there was something else wrong with me. Damn this was crazy. I couldn't believe I had been reborn as a Gem- and one commanded by Home World no less! But with my Gem placement- was I _that_ Ruby? The future Crystal Gem? I had the same Gem placement and cut. It seemed like it, but there were only so many places for a Gem to go, so I'm sure there would have been another Ruby with my Gem placement at some point, right? If I'm not the future Crystal Gem, I swear I'm going to shatter myself. I will _not_ help this worthless race of beings destroy all life on other planets, especially if that planet has animal, humanoid or intelligent life on it. I may be a Gem of Home World in this life, but my loyalty will always be to life and to my _true_ planet.

Suddenly, the elevator-like platform stopped, and we disembarked onto a building. The Tiger's-Eye walked inside the building. I was led inside and down countless hallways until we reached a large room with multiple Gems standing before an Emerald with a pentagonal cut embedded into her chest. It seemed to shine brighter than the sun, and it hurt my eyes to look at it. The Tiger's-Eye saluted in that strange diamond shape, "Lieutenant Emerald, I have a new Ruby for you, although she seems to be defective" she stated, not even looking at me. I clenched my fist, I was not defective damn it! The Lieutenant scoffed, "another one, what am I? a defective Gem dump? Fine, leave her here, I'll have those defects beaten out of her within the first hundred years" she replied.

That was when I lost my patients, "I am not defective!" I shouted, stomping my foot and unconsciously activating my Pyrokineses. A wave of flame's flew out from where I'd stomped and everyone stopped and began staring at me. Even the other trainee's. I shrank under their stares, though I was sure I wouldn't be this shy forever. The Quartz turned back the Emerald, "like I said, defective, she didn't even know her Facet number or cut- and normally, we'd simply harvest defects like her-" I felt a shiver run up my holographic spine at that, "however, we need as many soldiers as we can get to continue colonizing other planets- so do what you do, and see if you can turn her into something _useful_ " she said, before turning and walking away.

I felt the need to stick my tongue out at her retreating back, but resisted the urge. No doubt I already had a lot of long and torturous training ahead of me, no need to make it worse. Lieutenant Emerald turned back to face me with a dismissive scoff, "fine, like I don't have enough problems with this lot," she muttered under her breath, "state your Cut and Facet number- you _do_ know them _now_ don't you?" she asked, as though talking to a brainless person. My left eyebrow twitched. I had a feeling I would get a lot of this here, but I chose to stay as calm as I could- no use angering my new _teacher_. I stared straight up at the taller Gem, "Ruby, Facet 1K2 Cut 3ND" I replied. The Emerald scowled, "I know that you are defective, but surely not so much that you don't even know how to salute?!" she demanded.

I flinched at the sound, but instantly brought my hands up, forming a diamond shape with my arms, "no, ma'am" I replied, feeling disgusted with myself for what I was doing. The Lieutenant turned away from me, "good, join the ranks defect" she ordered. I scowled behind her back, but did as ordered. I had a feeling the next few years were going to be hell.

 ** _R_**

 _(3_ _rd_ _person POV)_

Over the next few months, Ruby endured the most intense training imaginable, and did her best to help her fellow trainee's. During that time, she became very intimate with the effects of Gem Destabilizes. She lay on the ground with arks of electricity shooting through her body. But she still refused to submit. The Lieutenant glared at her. She was being stubborn. The Emerald walked up to her, "on your feet defect" she ordered, grabbing her and dragging her off somewhere. Ruby glared up at the green Gem, "where are you taking me!?" she demanded.

"Quiet" she ordered. Ruby was dragged into a room, where the Lieutenant threw her into a box-like contraption. "This should improve your attitude" she said, shutting the door. The red Gem threw herself against the door, "let me out of here!" she demanded. The large Gem pressed a button on the wall outside the room. And a rumbling caught Ruby's attention.

 ** _R_**

 _(Ruby's POV)_

Suddenly the walls around me began to shrink. I gasped and pressed against the walls in an effort to keep them from moving. Despite my new strength, the walls closed in around me with crushing force. I clenched my teeth and eyes shut. But the walls, floor and ceiling continued to crush me. They pushed me in until I was screaming.

Finally, when I felt like my physical form would give out if any more pressure was applied, the room stilled. It was so tight that I could no longer move. "Now, you will stay in there until you learn to respect your superior's defect!" the Emerald shouted. I groaned, but continued to glare at the bigger Gem as much as I could. The green Gem smirked at me, before turning and walking away.

 ** _R_**

I stayed in that room for who knew how long. At first I tried to stay defiant, refusing to give in. However, after many, many, many hours, my strength was beginning to wane. After many more hours, the pain was starting to get to me. I clenched my teeth together, refusing to scream again. I _wouldn't_ give in. The pain was unbearable, in every part of my construct, crushing the life out of me, but not enough to make me dissipate my form and grant me relief from the agony. The Emerald walked in.

I felt like I would rather die than talk to this bitch. My entire body felt like it was being torn apart. The Lieutenant had a smirk on her face, "so, have you learned your lesson yet?" she asked, "are you ready to follow orders?" I moaned and gasped, "n-never". The large Gem scowled, "well then, I'm sure you would like to spend another few months here" she replied.

 ** _R_**

I felt what was left of my resistance shatter a few days later. I couldn't take it anymore. After two months the Emerald returned to find me sobbing in agony with tears streaming down my face. She smirked, "well?" I sobbed, "p-please," I gasped, "I can't take anymore, please, mercy!" I begged. The Lieutenant stared at me impassively, "have you learned your lesson?" she asked. "Yes! I'll do whatever you want, just let me go!" I sobbed.

The large Gem pressed a button and the room retracted, letting me fall to the floor.

 ** _R_**

I was thrown into another small box and left there. My entire body was screaming at me. I really hated this planet. And I swore that I would get out as soon as possible.

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Despite how much I loathed the very thought, I figured that my life would be easier until the Rebellion if I simply obeyed Home world's laws. So, I stopped being rude to my superiors, and forced myself to tolerate the 'defect' title. I did as I was told and followed orders. However, there were still some things that I couldn't bring myself to allow. Today marked the thirtieth year since my emergence, and I was following Lieutenant Emerald through this planets Kindergarten. "Please excuse the interruption Ma'am, but where are we going?" I asked curiously.

The green Gem didn't even look at me as she spoke, "routine maintenance check, we are doing a patrol of the Kindergarten to see if any new Gems have emerged" she replied curtly. I nodded and looked around. I hadn't been back to the Kindergarten since I emerged, and I had no idea what the place had looked like before all the life had been drained out of this planet. I didn't even know what the planet was called, or if there had been any life here at all before Home World had colonized it. We soon stopped at a section of wall that looked like someone was trying the push through the rock.

We waited for about an hour, before one thin blue arm pushed through the stone. I stared, transfixed. I had never seen a Gem being 'born' before, and though my own experience with that should have solved some questions, it still didn't answer all of them. When the Gem was fully emerged, both myself and the Emerald just stared. It looked like a Lapis Lazuli, however, the blue was a very light shade and she had long Ultramarine blue hair, while her gem was on her chest. She was also extremely small for a Lapis. In fact she looked like a child. She stared around herself, before fixing her wide-eyed gaze on me. I thought she looked very cute.

Lieutenant Emerald sighed, "another defect, are you kidding?" she asked. She stepped forwards, taking out a Gem destabilizer. My eyes widened, "wait, what are you doing?" I demanded to know, as the small Lapis stepped back, a look of terror on her face. "We may have tolerated you, but we have no need for a Gem that looks like it can't even _learn_ " she replied, "you were at least useful, this one will just take up resources that can be used for bigger, stronger Gems, who can serve our Diamond far better" the Emerald said, raising the weapon, and causing the child-like Lapis to flinch. I clenched my fists, this was going too far.

I threw myself in front of the tiny Gem, "please, wait! What if she could become useful!?" I asked desperately, a plan forming in my mind. The Lieutenant paused, "what do you mean?" she asked. "I mean, I could train her myself, teach her how to control her powers, get her combat ready, and if she's having trouble, you don't have to waste your time and resources teaching her" I suggested. The Emerald scowled, but appeared to be thinking it over. Finally she turned back to me and crossed her arms, "fine defect, but if she causes trouble, it will be on your head" she said, before turning and walking away. I sighed in relief.

Turning back to the Lapis, I found that she was no longer there. Crouching down so I could look into her hole, I found that, yes, she had hidden in there and was now cowering against the back wall. I took a deep breath and exhaled. It was something I no longer needed to do, but it helped calm me down at least. I smiled gently at the small blue Gem, "hey there, don't worry, that big, scary Gem is gone now" I said softly. The Lapis stared at me with wide eyes. "It's okay, you're safe, I promise I'm not going to hurt you" I said, slowly reaching a hand out towards her, "do you want to come out of there for me?" I asked.

The small Gem still looked unsure, so I scooted backwards through the dirt, "it's okay, see? I'll even move back to give you some space, alright?" Slowly, timidly, the Lapis Lazuli crawled out into the sun, and I could see just how small, pale and thin she really was. The only Lapis I knew from the cartoon had been thin, but not _that_ much. "Well done, that was so good" I praised softly. The tiny Gem still looked nervous, but eventually found her voice, "you won't, hurt me?" she asked, and it broke my metaphorical heart to hear her say that.

I shook my head, "no, of course not, I would never hurt you" I replied softly, but with slight force to my tone. I smiled again, "I'm a friend" I said. The Lapis cocked her head to the side, "what's a- friend?" she asked. "A friend is someone you trust who cares about you and truly wants to help you- that's what I am" I replied patiently. She looked down thoughtfully, then back up at me again, "what's a defect?" she asked. I grimaced at the name, despite hearing it for thirteen years of my new life, it still made me angry that everyone continued to call me that. And that they would call this sweet little Gem that as well. "It's something that the other Gems here see us as, but don't let their views influence you" I took a deep breath.

"I'm going to be looking after you from now on as well as training you, okay?" I asked. The Lapis nodded slightly, "okay" she replied. "Although, there are other Lapis Lazuli's around, so maybe I should give you nickname?" I wondered aloud. The small blue Gem looked curious, "what's a nickname?" she asked me. I smiled softly, "a nickname is a short version of someone's name, or a cute word that describes them" I explained, and thought for a moment, before I perked up, "I know! La La" The Lapis cocked her head to the side again, "La La?" she asked. I grinned then, "La La, short for Lapis Lazuli, get it?" I asked. La La looked thoughtful, before she nodded, "La La, I like it" she replied softly with a small smile as well.

"Well then La La, let's get going, we have a lot of work to do" I said. She nodded and followed me quietly, though I didn't know if she was simply shy or if it was something else. I eventually decided that it simply didn't matter at the moment and that whatever it was wasn't any of my business. I wondered how things would change now that I was looking after someone else. And another "defect" at that. Part of me wondered why I had been given the job at all. Surly she would have gotten put in with the other troops like I had been? Yes, maybe my decision to not be as rebellious as I used to be (at least until I actually joined the Rebellion) played a part, but surely not enough to warrant being put in charge of another defect, and surly not because I asked.

There must be another reason that I was given charge of La La. Maybe it was a test? Rubies were normally grunt soldiers, but if they showed enough promise, they _could_ be given command for short missions, as the events of 'Hit the diamond', and 'Back to the moon' showed in the cartoon. As a defect, I knew it was a stretch that I be given missions like those so soon, however, in the show the future Crystal Gem _had_ been the most effective, serious and smart member of the three Rubies that were sent to guard Sapphire while she was on Earth. So maybe my guess that this was some kind of test meant to showcase how well I could train and organize another Gem wasn't too ludicrous after all.

Soon we came up to the same device that had told me my Facet and Cut number. After explaining to La La what it was and what she had to do, the small Gem stepped onto the machine. A blue light came out and scanned the small Lapis, "Lapis Lazuli, Facet 5S7 Cut 962" the robotic voice said. I nodded, "okay, that takes care of that, let's get back to the barracks so we can get started on your training, okay?" I asked my new protégé. She nodded, and we began walking again. So now I had my own training along with La La's to worry about, not to mention how the future had changed so far. It was still my goal to get out of Home Worlds clutches and join the Crystal Gems, as well as get Sapphire out of course, but now I also had to figure out a way to help La La escape from this place too.

I sighed, couldn't I have been reincarnated as a nameless side character or something? Hell, I would have been fine being Mystery Girl even, but no, of course I just had to end up as one half of one of the strongest characters of the series, and a Home World Gem to boot. I hated my current life. Well, I didn't hate La La, but that was it. I couldn't wait for the day when I would be assigned to guard Sapphire. Not only could I finally get _out_ of this godforsaken place, but I would be going to Earth. To my _real_ home. In this case, Sapphire wasn't the only one who knew the future. I was really the only one who could say with certainty that I knew what the future held. That is, if I didn't change anything. Hell, who knew what I had already changed with my very _existence_.

As we came up to the training barracks, I brought myself out of my thoughts of the future and focused on the task at hand. Beginning La La's training. I hadn't even been able to summon my own weapon yet- Ruby's, or should I say, _my_ single boxing glove and I had no idea how a Lapis Lazuli controlled water, but I would do my best. I had to for La La's sake. After all, if she couldn't become _useful_ to the diamonds, she would be shattered, and I couldn't bare that. I had only known her for half an hour at most, and I was already attached to the tiny Gem. Who wouldn't be? She was adorable and super sweet. At least I had something other than constant harsh training and ignoring the prejudice of the Home World Gems to occupy my time with now.

As we walked inside, we were met with Lieutenant Emerald glaring down at us, "what took you defects so long?" she asked. I clenched my fists, "Lapis is shy, I had to gain her confidence before I could even coax her out of her hole Lieutenant" I replied, my voice forcefully blank. The green Gem sighed, "whatever, just get to your training area" she replied dismissively. Forming the diamond shape with my hands, I turned and quickly walked away, La La following me. Once we reached a relatively clear spot, I looked at La La, "okay, the first thing we will do is to meditate and try to awaken our abilities, okay?" I asked. The small Lapis nodded and we both sat on the floor.

"Now, from what I understand, Lapis Lazuli's like yourself can manipulate water into anything you want, and you can also use it to form wings to fly with" I explained. La La looked extremely excited, "I can fly?" she asked, eyes sparkling. I chuckled slightly, "yes, you will be able to eventually, but for now, just try to feel the energy that exists in the core of your being" I replied. She looked confused now, "core of my being?" she asked. I pointed towards the blue Lapis Lazuli Gemstone on her chest, "our Gems are the core of our beings, no matter where they are on our physical form- when a Gem's body is destroyed, it is only our physical forms which give out, causing all of our energy to retreat back into our Gemstones," I began.

"Our Gems contain all of our energy, energy which is basically limitless, and it is this that restores our physical forms from any damage. This energy can also be used for other things, for most Gems these are things like light projection, and weapon summoning" I explained. "Wait, we can summon weapons?" she asked excitedly, and I had to smile. She was quite enthusiastic now. I nodded, "yes, you can, but you also have your other power, like myself" focusing on the raging flames that I could constantly feel inside my core, I formed a small fireball in my hand that leapt and danced, ever moving. La La peered at it, awe-struck, "it's so pretty" she said. I felt myself blush slightly at that and cleared my throat, bringing the small Gem's attention back to me.

"Alright, now, Gems like us are considered element manipulators, as we can manipulate the elements to do our bidding, I have only heard of a few who are, so this power is very rare" I explained to my protégé. The small Lapis nodded, "okay, let's get started then" I stated as we closed our eyes and focused on our cores. La La's job was to try to feel to feel the water that flowed within her Gem. Mine was to figure out how to awaken my weapon. I focused on my Gem and the infinite energy within it. I felt the flames within my core, but I dug deeper, past the flames. Deeper, deeper. There. I could feel a different energy than my flames.

It felt like- me. I pulled on it, feeling a weight settle around my left fist. Opening my eyes I held up my hand. There, around my fist was a single red boxing glove. I grinned and fist-pumped the air, "yes!" I exclaimed. The water Gem smiled at me, "well done Ruby!" she cried happily. I placed my hand on her head, "thank you La La, but don't forget, we still have to train you to use your water, okay?" I replied with a smile. She nodded, looking determined, "okay".

 ** _R_**

40 more years passed by in a blur. I spent time practicing with my powers and training my student. Once La La managed to feel the water within her Gemstone, she was able to use her water wings. It took 20 years for her to learn to project those wings from her back, rather than her Gem as was her default. After all, it was pretty hard to fly when your wings sprouted from your chest. But when she eventually did, we both celebrated. I also finally managed to summon my boxing glove on command. It was after this, that I was given about 100 small missions over three years.

Things like travelling to other, thankfully uninhabited, planets and getting them ready for Terra-forming and colonizing. Using my Pyrokineses to remove any plant life, while other Gems used their other powers to contribute to the job as well. With the Terra-forming, I mostly tried to ignore what I was doing, even if the planets were empty of intelligent life, these plants were still unique to the planet, and I was destroying them. I felt horribly guilty about it, and would take my frustrations out on my training, burning my training area black, though I always made sure La La was out when I did this.

Soon after the 100 mission mark, it was time for the particular training which I was extremely excited and nervous about in equal parts. I was led into a room by the Lieutenant. I said nothing, just clenching my fists in anticipation. What I saw made me stare in slight wonder. I had never seen any other Rubies before since I had emerged from the ground. But there, standing in front of me was a Ruby with her Gem on the side of her head. She was dressed the same way I was, which was a fuchsia stripe down the middle of her shirt, while the rest of it was burgundy. Her shorts were burgundy as were her boots.

"This is your training; learning Fusion. You and this Ruby will Fuse and try to keep it up as long as possible" she explained. I frowned. I still wasn't sure how I felt about performing Fusion with another Gem, let alone one I just barely met. Despite what I knew about Home World, I had thought they would at least give us some time to get to know each other, or even just get comfortable with each others presence. By the look of this Ruby, she was just as nervous as me, which meant that she had never Fused either.

I really didn't feel good about letting a stranger into my- well, Soul. No use ignoring it. I'd died and had been reincarnated as a Gem. And bringing an unknown person into that was something I felt like I couldn't do. At least not without getting to know the other Gem a little. Suddenly, standing here, I felt all my excitement give way to apprehension and fear. I stepped back, a nervous look on my face, "I-I can't" I replied warily. Lieutenant Emerald glared, "now Defect!" she ordered. However, the other Ruby shook her head, "she's clearly not ready, this isn't something you can force, if she can't do it right now, we can just wait" she said, and I felt immensely grateful.

The Emerald pulled out a Gem Destabilizer, "I told you to Fuse! Now do it!" she cried angrily. She thrust the weapon towards the other Ruby's back, making her gasp and leap forwards, causing me to grab her in my arms. We both stared at the weapon fearfully. I may have gotten used to the pain, but not only had it been a long time since I had had one used on me, Gem Destabilizer's still _hurt_. I could feel my sister Gem shaking just as much as I was, then there was a bright red glow and suddenly I was much bigger. I looked down at myself. I was twice as tall as I used to be and I reached up and felt the side of my head. There was a square-cut Gemstone there as well as in my palm.

My eyes widened, and with a surprised gasp both myself and the other Ruby fell to the ground as ourselves. My eyes shot open and I began gasping for air that I didn't need. The Lieutenant nodded approvingly, "good, you managed to do it without any side effects, though, you'll have to practice more to be able to keep your Fusion up for a longer amount of time" she said. The tall Gem turned and walked away, "keep practicing, and I had better find out you've gotten better when I get back" she ordered. We just stared at each other for a few minutes, before the other Ruby began to rub her arm, "um, sorry about that, I know you said that you didn't want to Fuse, I just sort of panicked" she said, looking apologetic.

I shook my head, "don't worry about it, at least neither of us got hurt," I replied, before I looked down, "and it wasn't really as bad as I thought" I said softly. And I meant it. My main concern was letting another Gem into my Psyche, but when I fused with the other Ruby just now, I didn't feel bad at all. And as she wasn't saying anything about me being a traitor, or freaking out and asking how I knew what was going to happen, I guessed that she didn't go that far. Maybe it was different for long-term Fusion, but it seemed that the boundaries were still set for me and that, without my consent, anyone I Fused with wouldn't be able to breach them. That was reassuring to hear. I didn't want every Ruby I Fused with blabbing about the future, and how a 'Defective Ruby' of all Gems knew about it.

I didn't even want to _think_ about what would happen to me if any Home World Gems found out about _that_. Not to mention if the _Diamonds_ found out about my future knowledge. I suppressed a shudder at the thought. Okay, it's not going to happen so don't worry about it. The other Ruby turned to me, "so, um- do you, wanna try it again?" she asked gently. I clenched my teeth, "yes, alright" I replied. This time it was _my_ choice. I felt much more relaxed this time than I was the first. I gripped the other Ruby's hand and let go of my tension. I seemed to simply melt into the other Gem. It seemed that if we were relaxed enough, Gems of the same type could fuse with just a touch. Once again, we formed the huge Ruby from before. And I didn't feel any different from how I did normally. It was so strange. You'd think with two sets of memories and experiences on our own, that combining those would be hard and strange. It wasn't. It really was just as the original Ruby had said: _"whenever I Fuse it's always just been me, but bigger"_ . That's exactly what it felt like. Maybe it was different for two different types of Gems to Fuse, which is why Ruby and Sapphire were so disorientated when they became Garnet for the first time.

It would make sense after all. We practiced a few more times, before deciding to get to know one another better. Sitting on the floor, I looked at the ground, "if I tell you something, do you promise you won't repeat it to anyone?" I asked. The other Ruby, who I'd begun calling "Temple" for her Gem placement, nodded, "sure, I can keep a secret" she replied. I took a deep breath, "I really hate it here, on this planet- I hate what we do to other planets, and I hate having to be a part of that" I said. Temple merely raised an eyebrow, "but it's our home, we don't have anywhere else to go" she replied. I scoffed, "even if this is where we were created, this is not home. Home is a place where you're happy, and where you're surrounded by people who care about you. Home is a place where you're safe and you don't have to worry about getting hurt all the time. This is not my home" I replied, clenching my fist.

Temple looked at me in confusion, "then where is?" she asked. I shook my head, "I don't know, but when I find it I'll know" I replied. Temple smiled, "I'm sure you will" she said. She then began telling me about herself. Surprisingly, while she was mostly loyal to Home World, Temple actually wanted to explore and visit other planets, not as a conqueror, but as a scientist. She wanted to study new life and preserve it, not destroy it. It was that vein of thinking that had gotten her labelled a defect as well, but since she still followed orders, she had never needed the "special training" that I had. "I mean, is it so wrong to want to preserve and protect life instead of destroying it? all these planets that we are taking over have samples of plant and animal species that don't exist anywhere other than on those planets- we are wiping out entire unique ecosystems, and no one seems to care! And don't even get me started on the planets containing intelligent life!" she ranted.

I was amazed that there was another Home World Gem that thought like me. Gems like us were a model-a-million, and yet here was another Ruby ranting to me about how wrong it was for our people to wipe out life on other planets! I had to find a way to get her into the Crystal Gems too, if she survived the war, I could see us becoming good friends. I stood up again, "thank you for telling me about yourself, you really are a good Gem" I said with a smile. Temple smiled back and stood up as well, "so, should we try again, the Lieutenant did say she wanted us to be able to Fuse better when she came back, and if we can't, who knows what she'll do to us" she said, frowning now. At first I thought it was just from the thought of getting hurt, but then she stepped closer to me, "will you be okay to keep practicing? I don't want to farce you if you're not comfortable" she said worriedly.

I smiled gratefully, "I'll be okay, but thank you for asking Temple" I replied. She cocked her head to the side, "Temple?" she asked curiously. "It's a nickname, a word that relates to you so I don't have to keep calling you Ruby all the time, as that would get confusing, for you, I used your Gem placement," I explained, "but if you don't like it, I could think of something else-" I began, worrying that she might not like the name. But she shook her head, "I like Temple, it sounds very mysterious" she replied with a smile. I chuckled slightly, "well okay, now, let's get to work" I said. Temple nodded.

 ** _R_**

The Emerald came back into the room a few hours later to see a large Ruby walking around the room. She smirked, "well, well, well, looks like you managed to do it after all" she said. The Ruby Fusion gasped and spun around, to see the Lieutenant staring at her. She quickly stood to attention, "from now on you'll spend every day practicing Fusion until you can at least Fuse with two others of your kind" she explained. The large Ruby's eyes widened, and she fell apart. I shot to my feet, "what about the Lapis, I need to continue training her?" I asked quickly.

The green Gem sneered, "I know you're both defects, but that doesn't mean you need to spend every hour of the day coddling her- she can train herself from now on, while you work on this, understood?" she asked. I bit my lip, wondering if they would put her in with the rest of the Gems. I didn't want La La to have to go through that. The Lieutenant scowled, "I said, is that understood defect?!" she yelled. I quickly snapped to attention with a salute, "yes Ma'am Lieutenant!" I replied. The Emerald nodded, "good, get back to work" she ordered.

I glared at the other Gem as she walked away. God I hated her. Temple walked up behind me, "are you okay Ruby?" she asked. I turned to her and smiled thinly, "yeah, I'm okay, just worried about La La that's all" I replied, looking down. Temple placed a hand on my shoulder, "don't worry, from what you've told me, she seems very resilient, I'm sure La La will be fine" she said reassuringly. I smiled at her, "thank you Temple, you're very kind, even if I'm still not 100% comfortable with Fusion, at least I made a new friend" I replied softly. Temple looked confused, "what's a friend?" she asked. "A friend is someone you trust who cares about you and truly wants to help you" I explained, giving her the same explanation that I gave La La when she asked me.

"Until now, the only friend I've had was La La, but now I have you as well" I said, grinning happily. Temple smiled back, "well, I'd be happy to be your friend Ruby, you're a very nice Gem, and there aren't that many of those around here" she replied. I scoffed, "oh, I know" I said. After a moment of silence we both burst out laughing.

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

We spent many days getting to know each other better and practicing Fusion. A while later we were introduced to another Ruby, this one with her Gem on the side of her shoulder. I decided that her nickname would be Korra, just for the irony. The three of us stood in our training area. We had just finished getting to Know Korra. It turned out that while she was a battle junkie like her namesake, she also preferred peace and quiet to the constant drone of battle. A few scuffles here and there to get her flames burning were good, but war was not.

I took a deep breath, "so is everyone ready?" I asked. Temple and Korra stared at me worriedly, "are you sure you can handle this?" Korra asked. She had been told about my awkwardness with Fusion and that I was wary about letting others into my psyche. I had gotten to know Temple, so she was fairly okay, and while we had just spent some time getting to know Korra as well, this was two Gems I was bringing in. I nodded, "yes, I'm fine, we have to do this, and I'd rather it be done by our choice, rather than the Lieutenant forcing us to" I replied, clenching my fists. Reaching out, the three of us grasped hands. There was a flash of red light and we became the three Gem Fusion from the cartoon. I again practiced holding it and walking around.

After several hours of holding the Fusion, the Rose Quartz sized Ruby fell apart and we all hit the ground in a heap. I sat up, while checking my Gem to make sure it wasn't damaged. Then I looked to the others, "are you two okay?" I asked. They stood up shakily, "yeah, it'll take some getting used to, but I think we've mostly got it down" Temple replied with a small smile. Korra fist bumped the air, "awe yeah, we're awesome!" she exclaimed. I giggled slightly at the other Ruby's antics. Two years later, we had officially mastered our three Gem Fusion, and it was also the end of the 100 years Lieutenant Emerald had said it would take to train me up into a loyal Home World Gem.

I mentally scoffed at that. Loyal my ass. I'd rather be loyal to Madara Uchiha than these world-killing Clods. One day as we were training, the Lieutenant walked up to us, "you three, stop what you are doing and stand to attention!" she snapped. I immediately snapped into a salute, as did the other two. After a moment, I saw what, or rather _who_ was the cause for this. A familiar Gem entered our training room. She was large and burly with bright orange skin and black stripes all over her body. Her hair was midnight black and her eyes were light red. Her eyes swept over the three of us, lingering on me. She smirked, her lips curving up in a tight way that looked rather painful.

"Well Lieutenant, it seems you did manage to turn that defect into a loyal solder after all" the same Tiger's Eye that had found me when I first emerged 100 years ago stated. I felt my inner flames spark a bit at that, but I gave no outward reaction to the name that once made me burn the training barrack's floor out of anger. She turned away and looked at the Emerald, "Pink Diamond has requested that I gather three of the strongest Ruby's we have- I don't know what it's for, something about Blue Diamond requesting a Sapphire to go to the Gem colony planet Earth to help her with some kind of problem. The Sapphire will need protection from these Clods, and as the planet belongs to Pink Diamond, she will be the one to assign the Guards" she explained.

I felt excitement welling up inside of my construct. Earth! We were finally going to my real home! But I kept my face blank and squashed down the leaping Fire in my Gem. I needed to stay calm and in control. If I lost control now, I'd never get out of here! The Emerald nodded, "I see, well, despite my reservations, the defect that you brought me all those years ago _has_ turned into loyal solder, and I have no issue's with letting her guard a Sapphire" she replied. Then she turned to us, "you three had better complete this mission with the utmost care and diligence, a Sapphire is an important and rare Gem model, unlike yourselves, understood?" she asked. All three of us nodded, "yes Lieutenant!" we replied in synchronicity.

The Tiger's Eye nodded, "very good, follow me" she ordered. We all followed the taller Gem in a single file line out of the training area and into a part of the planet we had never seen before. Soon we came up to a round crystalline platform that I recognized as a Warp Pad and we stepped up onto it. Then we disappeared in a column of blue light.

 ** _R_**

When the Warp died down, I found myself staring at the largest and most elaborate building I had ever seen. The design was so complex in fact that I can't even describe it. Well, except for one thing. It was pink. Literally, the entire thing was pink, from the towers, to the walls, the floors and even the windows. No doubt this was where Pink Diamond was. It was strange to think that she only owned the Earth and it's moon. Why would a Diamond only own one planet? I figured it didn't matter, so I pushed that thought away and followed the Tiger's Eye into the building. No one had actually told me this planets name in all 100 years I had existed, but I figured if Pink Diamond was here, this might even be Home World.

That made me hate it even more. The three of us were led through elaborate, but still practical hallways and rooms until we reached what I can only describe as a throne room. And there, sitting on a chair that was taller than she was- which was no easy feat to accomplish, let me tell you that- was Pink Diamond. I couldn't help but stare, even as my body moved on it's own to perform the diamond salute. She was huge, that much was for certain. She had pink skin and clothes as well as large front pointing spiky pink hair. Her eyes, surprisingly were warm and bright with life. Immediately, all four of us bowed deeply, "my Diamond, here are the three Rubies that you requested" the Tiger's Eye said, still bowing.

"You may relax Tiger's Eye, you three as well" Pink Diamond replied, and I was surprised at how gentle her voice was. As I stood up, I felt my body slightly relax, however, I could never be fully calm. "Your mission Rubies, is to guard a Sapphire belonging to Blue Diamond while she travels to my new colony on the planet Earth. Blue has requested the Future Vision of a Sapphire as there is a rebellion going on there. However, this is also why it would be too dangerous for a non-combat Gem type such as a Sapphire to go their alone, understood?" she asked. The three of us formed the Diamond salute once more, "yes my Diamond" we answered as one. Pink gestured away from herself, "good, the Sapphire is waiting for you by the Roaming Eye's, go now, and take good care of your charge" she replied. We bowed then turned and began to walk away. I couldn't believe I had just met Pink Diamond.

And she seemed to be nice as well. But she still wanted to destroy the Earth and turn it into a colony. So I was still against her. The Tiger's Eye stopped us as we left the building, "hurry up and get to the ships, you mustn't keep the Sapphire waiting" she said. All three of us nodded then we turned and headed for the ships and- Sapphire. Oh god, I hadn't even thought about her yet. At least not properly. We were supposed to fall in love and form Garnet. But I could barely stand to fuse with two other Rubies, and I just felt like a larger version of myself. According to the original Ruby, fusing with a Gem of a different type was a different feeling all together. Not only that, but Garnet seemed to have a different personality than her components. I had no idea how this was going to work, but I hoped everything would be okay.

As for the falling in love part, that was an entirely different matter. I had never really loved anyone that way before, let alone another girl. But Sapphire wasn't a girl was she? She was a Gem. And Gems weren't male or female. We may use pronouns like 'she' but we weren't physically one or the other. So even if I was with Sapphire, it wouldn't matter for me once we were on Earth, right? Well, we'd just have to wait and see. I hadn't even seen her yet, and I had no idea if it would screw up the timeline so irreparably for everyone if I didn't fall in love with her. But, my feelings were my own. I resolved that I wouldn't love someone just because I was supposed to. I would spend time getting to know her first, and then, if we both felt the same way and we were comfortable with it, we would be together. Love. It was something Home World looked down on. But in reality it was the strongest force in the Universe. It was like Haku from Naruto said: "when a person has someone precious that they want to protect, that is when they can become truly strong." Love can make you strong. Strong enough to protect those precious to you. It wasn't a weakness, no matter what Home World said.

And if I did end up falling in love with Sapphire, well then, lucky us. Temple and Korra looked around, "um, Ruby, this isn't the Roaming Eye hanger?" Korra pointed out. I nodded, "I know- I have an obligation to La La to teach her, and I'm going to keep it" I replied with a smirk. Hell yeah for loopholes. As we reached the training Barracks, we slipped inside and went to the Training area I shared with La La. We found her practicing her flying. When she spotted us, she smiled, "Ruby!" she called and flew down to meet us, "is something wrong?" she asked. "Myself and these two Rubies have been assigned a mission to a planet called Earth while guarding a Sapphire, but I have a feeling that this is the time we've been waiting for" I explained quickly.

The Lapis's eyes lit up, "you mean-?" she asked. I nodded, "today's the day we get out of this place for good, but we have to hurry and sneak you out, we need to meet our charge and sneak you on board the ship with us quickly" I whispered, looking around for anyone who might listen in. La La nodded, "I know a way you can do that" she replied. I looked curious, "how?" "Poof me and you can carry my Gem right out" she explained. My eyes widened, "La La, I can't-" I began, but was cut off by Temple, "Ruby, hurry, I think I hear someone coming!" she whispered fiercely. I sighed and formed a fire ball in my left hand, "don't scream" I warned, and threw it.

 ** _R_**

We hurried over to the Roaming Eye hanger, La La's Gemstone hidden securely within the pocket I had shape-shifted for this purpose. We soon saw a small blue figure standing in front of one of the ships. My eyes widened slightly when I saw Sapphire standing in front of me, but she was hardly the most surprising person from the cartoon I had met today. However, I did feel my cheeks heat with a blush when I saw her. _'She's, quite beautiful'_ I thought to myself. Okay, yes maybe I was smitten with her already. But who could blame me? Sapphire was cute.

The blue Gem turned towards us, "are you the group Pink Diamond assigned to me for my mission to Earth?" she asked calmly. I nodded, "that's right, we will do our utmost to protect you" I promised. Korra nodded, and punched her left fist into her right hand, "you know it, no one's getting past us!" she declared. Temple nodded, "we'll protect you" she said firmly. Sapphire looked down, and I knew she probably already knew about her supposed 'fate'. She looked up at us though her eye was obscured by her bangs, "thank you, I'm sure you'll do you best" she replied calmly. The four of us entered the ship and took our positions. I was the captain for this mission so I was the one in charge of the ship.

After setting our course the ship took off into space. As we traveled, I couldn't help but peek at Sapphire out of the corner of my eye. She was sitting silently in her chair and staring out at the stars as we passed them. Korra turned to me, "hey Ruby, how long until we get to the Earth?" she asked. I checked the ships computer, "about four weeks if we travel using the Gravity engine" I replied. She nodded, "we should do something to pass the time" she replied. I shrugged, "like what?" I asked curiously. The other two Rubies thought for a moment, before Temple brightened, "you should sing for us Ruby!" she exclaimed. I felt my face heat up when she said this, "what? I can't do that!" I exclaimed, flustered. From the corner of my eye, I could see Sapphire turn to look at me, though with what emotion I couldn't tell.

But both Korra and Temple kept insisting I sing for them, so I steeled my nerves and thought for a moment about what song I should sing. I smiled when I thought of one. Then I began to sing: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away

The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping  
I dreamt I held you in my arms  
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken  
So I hung my head, and I cried

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away

I'll always love you and make you happy  
If you will only say the same  
But if you leave me to love another,  
You'll regret it all one day

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away

Please don't take my sunshine away"

As I finished singing, I looked around. Korra and Temple stared at me with wide eyes, before they began clapping. I knew La La would have like my singing, but what about Sapphire? I slowly peeked at her from the corner of my eye. Her single eye wasn't visible, but her lips were slightly parted and she was facing in my direction. Was that a good sign? I hoped it was. I bushed slightly and rubbed the back of my head, "ah, I guess you liked my singing then?" I asked.

"Are you kidding Ruby? That was amazing!" Korra replied enthusiastically. I sang many other songs as we traveled, and used the time to try and relax. About three weeks later, and the others still hadn't gotten tired of it. "Do you know anymore?" Temple asked. I thought about what song I could sing next, before closing my eyes, _'this one is fitting'_ I thought:

"When I am down and, oh, my soul, so weary;  
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;  
Then I am still and wait here in the silence,  
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up to more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up to more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;  
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;  
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,  
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up to more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up to more than I can be.

You raise me up to more than I can be."

When I looked up at everyone, I saw some of my friends seemingly on the verge of tears. I blushed, "I'm not _that_ good" I protested, my face heating up again. Geez, why did everyone have to stare? "you know, if you weren't a warrior Gem model, you could have very easily have been a singer" Korra said. "It's true" a soft voice said. I whirled around to find Sapphire staring impassively at me. I quickly looked away and blushed, "y-yeah?" I asked. The blue Gem nodded her head, "yes, you are very good at singing- did you make up those songs yourself?" Sapphire asked curiously.

I scratched the back of my head. No, not really, but in this Universe, yes. "I guess" I replied, looking down, "did you like them?" I asked, peeking up at her shyly. The blue Gem was silent for a moment and I waited patiently for an answer. Finally, she said: "yes". I grinned with a blush on my face, though it wasn't really visible, as I was already red, "thank you, I'm glad you liked them" I replied happily. Suddenly Temple called out to us: "we're almost their guys, get ready" she said. On the view screen I could see a small blue dot in the distance. I stared, transfixed. I had never seen the Earth from space before. Home. I was finally home. I felt my eyes water. It was beautiful. And I swore I was going to protect it.

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4

As we landed and dismounted the ship, I gulped slightly at the sight of all the Gems that were here, but I steeled myself and walked determinedly in front of Sapphire, while Korra walked in front of me and Temple was in the front of the line. Korra went up to Temple and held up her fist, "hey! I can't wait for those Rebels to get here!" she declared with her usual hot-headedness. Temple chuckled, "he heh, yeah, when I see those Rebels, I'm gonna punch them right in their faces!" she declared. Korra, ever her usual competitive self frowned, "what are you sayin? _I'm_ gonna punch them all over their bodies, and then, it'll be over!" she boasted haughtily.

Temple went behind her comrade, "what if, I just punch you!" she replied, hitting the other Ruby in the back of her arm, causing Korra to give a slight cry of pain. Temple stuck her tongue out at her back. I sighed and rolled my eyes at their childishness. "Oh come on," I said, playing the role of mediator between the two's rough housing and banter, "we'll punch them together when we Fuse, that's why they sent the three of us" I replied patiently. Korra, riled up now, turned around and went to punch me as well, "three this!" she replied, hitting my arms as I instinctively blocked the incoming attack. Unfortunately, I had forgotten where that particular action had gotten Ruby in the cartoon.

I stumbled backwards and right into Sapphire. The other Gems all gasped. Alarm bells began ringing in my head as I quickly turned to apologize before I got into trouble, "I'm sorry, I-I mean I, uh-" I stammered frantically, not so much worried about Sapphire, as I knew she was fine, but what the other Gems surrounding us might do if I didn't show my respect. Sapphire calmly spoke up, "I'm fine," she straightened up and held her hands out in a placating gesture, "it's okay, it was bound to happen" she replied. I blinked, expecting the answer, but that didn't mean that I hadn't knocked into her with a bit of force, "I, uh… okay" I replied with an internal sigh. "Now please wait here, I must attend to my duties" Sapphire said and I noticed that we had ended up outside Blue Diamonds palanquin after all. I had been slightly worried that with everything going on that we might have gone the wrong way.

I straightened up quickly, as did the other two, "right" I replied, "um," Korra also stood to attention, "yes" Temple said as she straightened up as well. I watched Sapphire as she passed the two burly Jasper's that stood guard for Blue Diamond and entered the Palanquin and sighed subtly. I hoped everything would be okay. As we waited I looked around. I wondered if all these Gems were of Blue Diamonds Court, or just important ones from Home World. _'Soon,'_ I thought to myself, _'just wait a little longer and then you'll be free'_. A minute later, Sapphire emerged from the palanquin and came to stand next to me. I blushed and stared resolutely ahead. "What a beautiful place to build a colony" the blue Gem began and I turned to look at her. I scowled mentally when the words: _'not for much longer if Home world get's their way'_ surfaced in my mind.

But I kept my face blank as Sapphire continued speaking, "I wish I could have seen more of this planet". I blinked, "there's still time" I replied. Sapphire smiled slightly, "yes, that is a nice thought, but- no" she said, as her smile vanished and she looked forwards again. _'This is it, this is the moment when-'_ I thought, but they were cut off when a welcome voice called out: "Blue Diamond! Leave this planet! This colony will not be completed!" I looked frantically around, while my two friends got into battle stances, "it's the rebels!" Korra exclaimed. Everyone was looking around frantically, "who are you? Show yourselves!" a random Gem demanded. Some of the clouds that were scattered around from how high up we were parted, revealing Rose Quartz floating there, with Pearl standing on a spire in front of her holding two fencing swords in each of her hands, "we, are the Crystal Gems!" they exclaimed together. I barely noticed Blue Diamonds Palanquin close up, sprout legs and start walking away. I was too focused on the chaos happening all around me. Many of the Aristocrats fled in panic, while the warrior Gems went into action. However, Pearl cut through them all easily and ruthlessly. Literally.

The three of us looked at each other and leapt into a pyramid shape, quickly Fusing into our larger Ruby form. I then aimed a punch towards Rose, who grinned and quickly landed three punches on my body. I was instantly returned to my own form as Pearl took out Temple and Korra. Their Gems clinked on the ground as I slammed face-first into it. Pushing myself to my hands and knees I quickly snatched up my friends Gems and shoved them into the pocket with La La's, who was thankfully still there. Looking around I found Pearl to be standing right in front of Sapphire with her swords drawn. The blue Gem seemed unfazed by the sharp pieces of metal looking to bisect her.

When she spoke, it was with that same calm tone of voice that she had used since I had met her: "thank you Ruby, you did your best" she said. Suddenly the world seemed to freeze as before me as I saw my two choices. I could leave Sapphire to her fate and let Rose and Pearl be captured, then return to the planet I had know for 100 years to continue my life as normal. Or, I could follow the actions of the original Ruby, choose my own fate and save Sapphire, which would lead to us Fusing into Garnet, becoming Crystal Gems and finally get _away_ from the hell hole that was Home World. The weight of the three Gemstones in my pocket turned my thoughts to them. What would happen to Korra, Temple and La La if I went back to the Gem Home World? Nothing good I was sure.

I knew I had already changed many things with my existence in this world as it was. But I would much rather stay in my home and help protect it with everyone else's help. Who knew, maybe I could even stop Bismuth from going crazy and save some of the other Crystal Gems from being shattered or corrupted. With that in mind I quickly steeled my resolve. The world seemed to blur into motion again as I pushed myself off the dirt and leapt towards Sapphire, "no!" I cried in determination, as my arms wrapped around the blue Gem's waist, pulling her close to me and away from Pearl. Suddenly light engulfed us both. Lines blurred and shifted, limbs lengthened and changed and colours mixed. I opened my eyes and stared at my body, my palms in shock.

It was, strange, but not unpleasant being Garnet, I decided. I was still here, as was Sapphire, but I was also someone else, someone not me. Part of my mind felt shocked beyond belief, while the other part, the one that was me was less shocked, but still feeling awkward. I knew that this first time was not something that Sapphire chose to do, and that thought made me cringe slightly. But it couldn't be helped. I also was very curious about my new body, now that I had actually got the hard part over with. I looked myself over through Garnets eyes. Mish-mashed colours consisting of light blue and pink covered my outfit, now a very short dress. It was split diagonally with the right side resembling my bodysuit, but colored light pink instead.

My sleeves were medium length with the collar and sleeve on the right side having a dark indigo colour. The left side resembled Sapphire's dress, but colored indigo, with a slightly puffy pale blue sleeve. I also had a black glove on my left arm starting from my elbow and covering my entire hand. My indigo half-dress stopped a little below my new hips, where it extended out a bit. My leggings were hot pink on my right leg and dark indigo on my left. I had a tall dark indigo boot on my right foot, and no left boot. I also had a single pocket on the side of my dress and I felt relieved to feel the Gems of my friends still sitting in there. I felt a surge of worry, shock, intrigue and fear pass through Garnet from Sapphire, and all I could get out were the words: "is this?-" before my form glowed and the other Gem and I toppled to the ground.

As I pushed myself up, I realized that everyone was staring at us with a mixture of shock and scandalized horror on their faces. Oh _shit_. "Unbelievable!" "disgusting!" "this is unheard of!" were just a few of the things thrown our way. I realized that Rose and Pearl must have run off while we had been distracted. Well, at least they were safe. I glanced over at Sapphire to find her kneeling on the ground staring at her hands in shock. I frowned, I felt terrible taking her choice away from her, especially considering how hard I fought Fusing with Temple until I got to choose. I truly believed Fusion wasn't something that should be forced on anyone.

It was a daunting experience to go through even with consent. I knew just how hard it was when you were forced to Fuse with someone else, especially when you didn't really know them. To open up to them and let them inside your very soul, was not something that was easy. It was bad enough for me when I was forced to Fuse with Temple for the first time, and she was another Ruby. Sapphire had never done that before and suddenly another person was shoved into her psyche. It must be really hard for her. Suddenly I heard a furious voice boom through the shouted insults, making me shudder: "the rebels have fled, Sapphire, this is not the scenario you described!" Blue Diamond accused.

Sapphire looked up, sweat running down the side of her face, "this is, not what I saw- I don't know what happened, I-" she began shakily. Okay, she was _not_ taking the blame for my mistake. I jumped in front of the stammering Gem, "no, it, was me" I said, beginning to feel fear grip me at even the thought of being shattered. Did it hurt? Were you still conscious inside the broken pieces of your Gem? Or would I become like a ghost? Wondering the world forever with no physical form to bind me? "clearly," Blue Diamond replied. I held up my hands, surly she couldn't blame me for doing my job right? Right? "how dare you Fuse with a member of my Court" Blue Diamond began "forgive me, I-" I began, but she cut me off "you will be broken for this!" she exclaimed. My eyes widened. Yes, yes she could. I looked with wide eyes at the large Gems closing in around me.

Before I could do anything else, I felt Sapphire grab my wrist. Then she took off, rushing towards the edge of the Cloud arena. As she leapt off, I placed my hand over the pocket containing the Gems of my friends, hoping they didn't get thrown out due to the speed we were falling at and closed my eyes and mouth. I felt the wind rushing past my body as we fell who knew how far, before our momentum slowed. Opening my eyes I saw us floating down to the ground, and I grunted when Sapphire dropped me onto the grass. I jumped to my feet quickly, looking up at the clouds through the rain that was drenching our clothes and hair, hoping not to see Gems descending on us like vultures. Then I looked around the area. We were at the base of a mountain. Suddenly I heard a crunching sound and turned back to Sapphire.

I gasped when I saw the bottom of her dress coated in large chunks of ice, freezing her to the spot. All the rain wasn't helping either. I steeled my resolve, "we have to get you out of here!" I decided firmly, walking behind the blue Gem and wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her up and breaking the ice keeping her stuck there. With one last look at the sky as I held her bridle-style I turned back to Sapphire, "come on" I said, while the other Gem just watched me silently. I began running looking for a place to stake out for the night. Eventually I found an empty cave and looked around a bit. I then gently placed Sapphire down onto her feet again, "okay, this should be good for now" I said, mostly to myself. I went over and peered out at the wet landscape, still worried that we might have been followed.

Ruby and Sapphire hadn't been followed in the cartoon, but I didn't want to take any chances. After all, after what she just did, Sapphire was sure to be shattered along with me if we were found. "Thank you" I heard her say behind me and I turned to tell her not to worry. However the words died in my throat when I saw she had uncovered her single blue eye. With the wide round eye and the adorable little expression on her face, I couldn't help but blush at how cute she looked. Suddenly I noticed light and smoke coming from below me. When I looked down, I saw the plants and dead leaves at my feet were on fire. I gasped and quickly stepped away, but forced myself not to stamp it out. Despite not being effected by things like cold, some warmth would be very much appreciated right now.

 ** _R_**

We sat together in silence while the fire warmed us up. I watched Sapphire hold her hands out to it, staring at the blue Gemstone embedded in her right palm. As we sat there, I couldn't help thinking about how we had formed Garnet earlier. What I felt when I was a part of her- was difficult to describe. I felt warm, a different kind than what my own inner flames gave me. I also felt safe and happy. Like I belonged. But it was also kind of scary because it was my first Fusion with a different kind of Gem.

Suddenly Sapphire spoke up, "I… I've seen Gems Fuse before, but I had no idea that's what it felt like," she said with a small smile, before looking down, "I always thought- I never realized that Fusion- that you, disappear like that" she said. I frowned, "it's not like that normally for me, whenever I Fuse with another Ruby, it's always just been me, but bigger," I looked down with a slight blush, "I've never had a third eye before" I said. Sapphire smiled, "I've never had more than one! It was nice" she replied.

I gave a small giggle at that, "yeah".

 ** _R_**

The next day we walked through the forest, looking at everything with wonder. It didn't matter to me if it was just another tree, or a river, a butterfly or a frog. After 100 years on Home World, even these normal parts of nature and animals I used to live all my life with were wondrous and beautiful. That night we lay next to each other on the grass and stared up at the starry night sky, "so, um, did you say I was different?" Sapphire asked. I frowned, "and, you hadn't before?" I asked curiously. "Of course not, when would I have ever?" the blue Gem asked me.

I looked away and cringed, "I'm so sorry" I said, feeling guilty about- everything. "Don't be" Sapphire replied. I sat up, "how do you not hate me?!" I asked, "I took you away from your home!" even if she could go back, Sapphire ran away with me, went against the orders of her Diamond. It was most likely that she'd be shattered as a traitor. "Now you're stuck here forever!" I moaned, only just now realizing that Sapphire might not have wanted to leave Home World. She might have liked her life there. I covered my face with my hands.

I felt a small cool hand grasp the hand with my Gem and gently pull it away from my face. She stared into my eyes, and though I couldn't see hers, I could feel her soft gaze, "but I won't be alone, we're here together Ruby" she said. I blushed again. Sapphire gently pulled me to my feet and we stood in the clearing together. She held her left hand in mine. We went to clasp our other hands together, but remembered our Gems. Even in a situation like this, and even in non-warrior class Gems like Sapphire, the fact that we never exposed our Gems needlessly was drilled into us as soon as possible. Instead Sapphire placed her right hand on my shoulder, and I placed mine on her waist. Sapphire began to hum a soft tune.

Led by some instinct that I couldn't name, I began to lead us in a waltz. It was strange, because I had never really learned how to waltz, not in my old life. And dancing wasn't something that Home World did very often, unless it was a Pearl dancing to entertain her owner, and even that was more than likely ballet. But I just felt like this was the only thing that we should do right now. I twirled Sapphire around as we stepped in a wide circle. Suddenly, as we twirled, our Gems began to glow. I closed my eyes, letting the Fusion take me. In a bright glow of light purple, we became Garnet. She blinked as I re-orientated myself again. Like the first time, it was a little disconcerting, but it felt nice. Garnet began to walk unsteadily around, trying to get used to her new form.

She almost tripped on a root, but held out her hands to catch herself on a tree. If nothing else at this point, she had good reflexes. Slowly Garnet began to get the hang of walking, and I relaxed. This did feel nice. Like I was right where I needed to be. I could also feel Sapphire's presence, this time she was less tense and overwhelmed. This time she was looking at everything from the new perspective that we had and feeling, well- content is the only word I could use to describe the emotions I could feel from her. Garnet began to walk at a more relaxed and normal pace, until her foot caught in a hole and twisted.

Being made of light, she couldn't twist her ankle or anything, but it was still enough to unbalance her and make her topple sideways. Garnet began to roll down a hill before she hit the ground again. Groaning slightly, Garnet pushed herself up and rubbed her head, "ouch" she moaned. Suddenly a sword was being pointed at her face. Despite knowing what was going to happen, I still thought that that sword was far too close to Garnet's face. She scrambled back with a yelp of fear, "don't hurt her!" I yelled, not wanting the new person we had created to get hurt if there was anything I could do about it. Both myself and Sapphire thought about this, "don't hurt- me?" Garnet asked unsure, as she could feel our unease about giving up who we were completely.

Calming slightly, Garnet looked up to see who was pointing the sword at her. Despite knowing that they would become our friends, I could feel myself shudder slightly when I saw Pearl. She had come so close to Poofing us, and though that wasn't as bad as being Shattered, I was sure, I still felt a slight amount of fear towards her. Recognition flashed across Pearls face, "it's you, the Fusion" she realized. "Don't hurt us, we're not with Home World anymore! W-we'll even unfuse if you want! We'll, we-we'll-" I trailed off from my terrified outburst as a soft voice brought Garnet out of her panic, "no no, please-" Rose came into view then.

Garnet stared up at her. I had never seen another Rose Quartz before back on Home World, and I thought Rose was very pretty. "I'm glad to see you again" the tall Gem said. Garnet blinked up at her, "we don't, upset you?" she asked slowly. Rose crouched right in front of her and grinned, "who cares about how I feel! How you feel is bound to be much more interesting" she said. Garnet blinked, "how, we feel?" she asked, looking down and frowning. "w-we feel, like we belong when we're together, but also very scared, while at the same time very happy, we don't understand what exactly we've made, but we feel like this is right- though, we also feel like we don't want to entirely give up who we are to be a new person fully either" Garnet looked up nervously, "is that bad?"she asked.

Rose shook her head, taking her hands, "it's a new experience, it will take time to get used to, and however you feel comfortable seeing yourself is right" she said, helping the Fusion to her feet. I frowned again, and I could also feel Sapphire felt the same. "C-can you tell me, how was Ruby able to alter fate?" she asked, genuinely confused about that. "And why was Sapphire willing to give up everything for me?" I asked. Garnet couldn't tell whether all this nervousness was coming from us or herself, but she had to know, "what am I!?" she demanded. "No more questions," Rose said, holding up a hand, "don't ever question this" she turned our hands over, revealing both Gems on each of Garnets palms, "you already are the answer" she replied with a bright smile.

Suddenly Garnet felt herself coming undone. I gasped as I fell to the ground. I pushed myself up, "at least it lasted longer this time" I said. Looking over at Sapphire, I saw her slowly sitting up. I got to my feet and slowly approached her, "Sapphire, are you alright?" I asked gently. She looked up at me, slowly smiling, "yes Ruby, I'm perfectly fine" she replied as she stood up. I was shocked when she wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder, "why didn't you tell me how you felt?" she asked quietly as I blushed, knowing what she was talking about.

"I-I didn't think it was appropriate, not only had we only just met, but I wasn't supposed to feel that way about you, _we_ weren't supposed to- I didn't want anything bad to happen" I replied. Sapphire looked up into my eyes, "well I feel the same way Ruby" she said. My eyes widened, "you do?" I asked. The blue Gem nodded, "though I think we need to get to know each other better first before we get together properly, I love you Ruby" she said softly. My face was frozen in shock, before it broke into a ridiculously huge grin and tears gathered in my eyes. I was so happy. I had a chance. She felt the same way! It may take time and work, but I had my first love. And she loved me back. As we held each other, I turned to look back at Rose. I was still grinning, "I know what the answer is" I said, pulling the blue Gem closer to me.

Rose smiled, "oh?" she asked knowingly. I nodded, "it's love,", I replied, looking back at my partner and bumping our foreheads together. I closed my eyes, "Garnet, is made of love" I said.

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

As we walked towards the Crystal Gems camp, I could see Pearl sneaking glances at us from Roses side. I was sure that she didn't trust us fully yet. I kept close to Sapphire, our hands closed tightly around each other. As we walked, my mind turned to the conversation we had had before we set out. _*Flashback*_

 _I looked up at Rose, stepping away from Sapphire to stand before the tall Gem. Staring up at her, I wondered how to phrase this. Eventually, I decided to just come out and say it. "I would like to join your group please" I said. Pearl gasped, "what?" she asked. Rose looked down at me with curiosity, "may I ask why?" she asked. I clenched my fists and looked down at the ground, "because I hate Home World, I hate their prejudice, and I hate how they view love!" I cried, tears squeezing from my eyes, "those bastards think love is a weakness! They think kindness is a weakness, they think anyone who is different is defective and they destroy all kinds of planets!" I sobbed._

 _I breathed deeply to calm myself down, my tears evaporating into steam as my emotions caused my body to heat up. Gaining control of my emotions and powers, I looked up at Rose again, "I want to dedicate my existence to protecting life, freedom and love, please," I bowed deeply, "I know you have no reason to trust me as I was your enemy, but please allow me and my friends to join you!" I begged. Rose quirked an eyebrow, "friends?" she asked. I brought out La La, Temple and Korra's Gemstones, "they hate the way Home World is run as well, La La wanted to come with me, and the other two were the other Rubies that you fought before- they may have attacked you, but they really do hate our old planet too, so, when they Reform, please can they become Crystal Gems?" I asked._

 _Rose Quartz smiled, "I see no reason why not if they want to help us" she replied. I smiled brightly, and bowed, "thank you so much!" I exclaimed. The pink Gem held up her hand, "now, now, none of that, while I may be the leader of the Rebellion, that doesn't mean that you have to bow to me, we are all equal here, okay?" she asked. I stood up, "okay then" I replied, just feeling relieved that she had allowed all of us to join her. "I'm joining too if that is alright with you" Sapphire said calmly. I frowned, turning back to her, "Sapphire, you don't have to, just because I want to join the Rebellion, doesn't mean that you do too" I said. Sapphire shook her head, "it's like you said before Ruby, I can never go back to Home World because they would Shatter me as a traitor, and this really is a beautiful planet- I want to stay with you and try my best to protect it- I just said that I love you, and I am not going to leave you now" she replied._

 _I felt my eyes water with happy tears, "Sapphire," I sniffed, before I moved forwards and hugged her tightly, but not enough to hurt her, "thank you- thank you for loving me back" I said. The blue Gem smiled, "you're welcome Ruby" she replied, stroking my back._

 _*End Flashback*_

So we were finally Crystal Gems. I felt a relief and calm I had never experienced before, not even in my old life. However I was also excited and nervous. Now things had gotten real. I was a rebel, and so was Sapphire. We were also partners now. I was so happy and relieved. She really loved me and wanted to be with me! Some part of me had been worried that she wouldn't have wanted to be with me. But I was wrong, and it had never felt so good. As we walked through the forest, I could feel myself getting more and more agitated as Pearl kept glancing at us.

Sapphire of course noticed and squeezed my hand slightly harder. I relaxed a little at this, turning to smile at her. Sapphire, being a normally stoic Gem didn't smile back, but stroked the back of my hand instead. Pearl turned back to face the front. I looked around. We had gone very deep into the forest, the trees and greenery almost creating a sort of natural cave around us. Rose turned around and walked up to a huge boulder, much bigger than any I had seen before, even in my Kindergarten which had had rocks galore. Without a sound the Quartz used both hands to push the rock in front of the entrance, blocking off the hideout from enemy Gems.

Then she turned and spread out her arms with a grin on her face, "welcome to the base of the Crystal Gems!" she proclaimed excitedly. I smiled, it was very nice, certainly much better than Home World, which had had no plant life at all, "cool" I replied. Rose gestured with her hand, "well come on, you need to come meet the others" she said. I raised an eyebrow, but we followed the two Gems anyway, "others?" I asked. Suddenly I felt my pocket heating up. I took out the three Gems of my friends while Rose and Pearl turned around to face us at seeing the bright light. "My friends are coming back, quick, you two hide, I don't want Temple and Korra freaking out!" I hissed, waving at them, hoping they'd move out of sight.

Thankfully, both seemed to understand, and moved behind a huge Oak tree that was probably about as old as I was. Korra was the first one who Reformed, followed quickly by Temple. La La came soon after. Once they had all hit the ground, Korra and Temple opened their eyes with a gasp. "What happened, where are the Rebel's, Ruby what's going on!" Korra demanded, getting into a fighting stance and looking around with wide eyes. "Where are we?" Temple asked also looking around. La La walked up to me and gripped my hand, "Ruby, where are we? Is this Earth?" she asked curiously. I held up my hands, "whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down everyone, one at a time okay?" I asked. They closed their mouths, but stared at us expectantly.

So, I began explaining what had happened, from the beginning for La La's sake. When I told them about Garnet, everyone was awed. They were also happy that I liked the experience. La La squealed when she was told that Sapphire and I were in love and would be together from now on, "I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed, jumping into my arms. I laughed and grinned down at her, "me too" I replied. I then went on to explain about the time we spent exploring the planet, meeting the rebels again, joining them and my round about confession to Sapphire. They were a little disappointed that she got to tell me first, and not the other way around, but they were still happy for me none-the-less. Then I got to the part that everyone was waiting for; "so now Sapphire and I have joined the Crystal Gems to help protect this planet, and Rose Quartz said that you could all join as well- we're in their Hideout now" I finished.

La La's eyes were wide, "we're, really free?" she asked. I nodded, "yes, we're free" I replied. She leapt into my arms again, laughing in joy. I joined her, finding the laughter contagious. The other two looked slightly uncomfortable, I mean, Home World was all they ever knew, but they also knew that what that place did was wrong. So they would get over it. Or at least I hoped so. Rose stepped forwards, "I apologize for attacking the two of you before- perhaps to make it up to you, and to help you get to know our base, I could give you all a tour?" she suggested. Pearl gasped, "Rose, are you sure that's wise? Most of them are Home World Gems?!" she exclaimed.

Rose turned to stare with a hard gaze at the thin Gem, "so were we, they have become rebels like us, they are part of the Crystal Gems now, so I will show our new members around" she replied in a voice that held no room for argument. Pearl looked away, not replying. "Okay, our other members are this way" Rose said. I paused, "um, actually, I really appreciate you offering to give us a tour, but could we do it later?" I glanced over at Sapphire, "we need to talk" I replied. The pink quartz looked between the two of us, then nodded, "alright, I'll give you two some privacy" she said. I turned to my friends, "guys, why don't you take that tour with Rose Quartz, we'll probably be a while" the other two Rubies nodded, and La La waved at us, "bye Ruby!" she called, before she turned and followed the others.

I led Sapphire over to a patch of moss growing in the cave. After poking it with a stick to confirm, that, yes, it was just normal moss rather than Rose's magic creeping moss, the two of us sat down on it. I laced my fingers together, "okay Sapphire, I think we need to get to know each other better before we take our relationship any further" I began, propping up one knee and wrapping my hands, still laced together around it. The blue Gem nodded, "that seems fair" she replied. She began, telling me about her life on Home World, and how everyday held nothing for her, no excitement or adventure, "before now you see, I had known every moment of my life thanks to my Future Vision. I knew how each and every thing would happen and when it would- things became monotonous, dull, life held no spark what-so-ever," she explained.

Sapphire looked up at me, "until I met you that is. You introduced a new unpredictability to my life, new paths that the future could travel in- you made my existence in this Universe exciting and new again Ruby, and now I'm glad that I can spend it with you" she gave me a smile that made my whole body flush with heat, and caused the moss I was sitting on to catch on fire. I shot up quickly from my seated position, "oh shit!" I exclaimed, frantically trying to beat it out, before it could burn Sapphire. However, a stream of cold air stopped the flames and left a thin sheet of frost on the slightly blackened moss. I turned towards the blue Gem and gave a sheepish smile, "sorry" I replied.

But Sapphire just shook her head, "it's fine, that, at least, was predictable" she said with a small smile of her own. I went and took a seat on her other side, and began debating on how much I could tell her about myself. I would certainly have to tell her about my previous life and future knowledge at some point and I knew that she'd probably at least understand the future Knowledge part, being a Gem with Future Vision as a power. But not yet. So what _could_ I tell her? Well, she'd just told me about her past, so- "Ever since I emerged on Home World, I hated the place. I didn't know my Facet or Cut number, so I was deemed defective and placed into harsh training," I began.

"At first I resisted, even with the usage of Gem Destabiliser's, I _did_ know what Home World did, and I refused to obey a planet of killers- so I was given _special_ punishment, and by punishment I mean torture," I hugged my legs tighter, shuddering at the memory of that horrible crushing pain in every part of my construct. "I was thrown into a room, with the walls, floor and ceiling beginning to contract- it crushed me to the point of poofing, but stopped right there," I took a shuddering breath to try and steady myself as Sapphire placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.

The pressure and coolness of her hand brought me back to reality, and I smiled slightly in gratitude. "I was left their for who knew how long and at first I tried to stay strong, but as the countless hours dragged on, the pain started to get to me" I squeezed my eyes shut and gulped, "eventually my resistance broke and I was left sobbing in agony, when the Lieutenant came back I was far beyond the breaking point and practically- no, I _did_ beg for mercy, for her to stop the pain, I would have done anything for it to stop, so when she asked me if I would follow orders from then on, I agreed without hesitation and was let out. After that I decided that until I could find a way to be free I would follow orders, no matter how much I hated it" I shook myself out of the memories and smiled slightly at Sapphire, "and now, I finally am" I said.

"Oh Ruby, I had no idea that you had to go through so much suffering back on Home World, but I'm glad that you managed to stay strong" the blue Gem said softly. There was a moment of stillness where neither of us moved, simply stared at each other. Then, slowly, but determinedly, Sapphire leaned forwards and gently pressed her lips to mine. My eyes widened and a burst of flame shot out of my hands, but it turned to steam when it came in contact with the cold air that Sapphire was emitting. Sapphire slowly leaned back and looked at my face. I was blushing madly and flames kept flowing out of random parts of my body, all turning to steam before reaching the other Gem. The other Gem who had just _kissed me! On the lips!_

My mind seemed to be stuck on those two thoughts, and my mouth was opening and closing like a fish without making any sound. Sapphire giggled slightly, and the sound sent a jolt down my light composed spine, "I suppose that means that you liked the kiss, hmm?" she asked softly. "H-how do you even know what kissing is?" I asked, it being the first thought to break through the haze of shock and giddiness in my mind. She looked down, "sometimes, to show respect, higher-class Gems would kiss their Diamonds hands, and so I thought, why not try the lips too?" Sapphire replied. All I could manage was a strangled noise, before I finally snapped out of my shock and gained a huge grin.

Holly shit, I just had my first kiss! Sapphire smiled gently, "I'm sorry that you had to go through so much pain, but at least you're free now" she said softly. My grin lessened, until I was giving my partner the most tender and loving look I had ever given anyone, "yes, I'm free thanks to you, really, thank you Sapphire, because of your actions, I'm now free to live- and love as I like" I slowly reached up and placed my palm on her cheek, cupping it softly, "do you mind if- I kissed you as well?"I whispered, and despite not needing to breath, Sapphire's seemed to hitch anyway. She slowly nodded her head, and I leaned forwards and gently captured her lips with mine. We began to kiss a little more, but I remained gentle with my partner.

I closed my eyes, and I felt like Sapphire would have as well, despite not being able to see it. It was because of this that neither of us noticed our Gems begin to glow. When I opened my eyes again, I realised that I felt different from before. Looking down I blinked at my pink and light blue clothes. Holding my hands up, I saw the two red Gems in each of my palms. Garnet looked herself over, "well, it wasn't exactly intended, but I suppose this is okay for now, we still have to practice more anyway" she said. From inside the Fusions mind I wondered if this was okay. The emotions I could feel coming from Sapphire seemed to say so, but I still wasn't sure. Either way, we really _did_ need to practice more, so Garnet shakily stood up.

She took a breath and exhaled. Then she clenched her fists, "okay then, let's get started" she said in determination.

 ** _R_**

Garnet walked through the hideout, waving to the other Gems she saw, some of whom watched her curiously, but a few waved back. Within our Fusion, myself and Sapphire sat together in a purple space. This was like our mindscape. While the last few times had felt like we weren't really _conscious_ of anything within Garnet, this felt a lot more like we were for some reason.

"Garnet is much better at walking now" I said, resting my head on my partners lap. Sapphire began stroking my hair and face, her cool hands feeling nice on my perpetually hot skin. I looked up at her, "I'm not too hot am I?" I asked. She shook her head, "not to me, you feel lovely and warm Ruby" the blue Gem replied.

I smiled, "that's good" I said, as her fingers threaded through my short hair. Slowly I began to relax more, and we both watched as our Fusion of love looked around the base of the Crystal Gems. "Hey!" a sudden call made Garnet turn her head and stare at the large Gem moving towards her. A large and strong built Gem with rainbow hair was walking towards the Fusion. She stopped in front of her. Garnet blinked her red and blue eye, her third being shut at the moment, as there was no need for Sapphire's Future Vision. "You must be the new Fusion that Rose told me about," she held out her held, "nice to meet ya, the name's Bismuth" she said. Garnet took her hand, and noticed that she had a very strong natural grip. Not wanting to seem weak, she held the other Gem's hand tightly as well, "Garnet" she replied.

Bismuth chuckled, "it's nice to meet ya Garnet, you have a pretty strong grip for a newly formed Fusion" she noted with a grin. Garnet shrugged. Bismuth released her hand, "Rose told me that you were unfused right now- is there any reason you are again?" she asked curiously. I began speaking through Garnet's mouth: "Fusion between Gems of different types is still new for me, and Sapphire has only ever Fused twice before, both times with me- we wanted to practice" I explained, not including the part about this third Fusion being as accidental as our first. The largely built Gem nodded, "well, okay then, that sounds fair" she replied.

"So, what do you think of our base?" Bismuth asked. Garnet thought for a moment, "well, it's very different from Home World, a lot more life- we like it" she replied. "Heh, you got that right, if those Upper-crusts had their way, this place would be a lifeless husk of rock" the former builder replied. Garnet smiled slightly, "well, it was nice meeting you Bismuth, maybe we can talk again some time, but right now we have to go" she said, as she waved, before turning and walking off again. As she left the other Gem behind, Garnet felt a lot more relaxed. Something about Bismuth just rubbed her the wrong way.

Ruby knew what it was, but she couldn't do anything about it right now. Not to mention that she felt like it was a bit unfair to judge the other Gem on something she hadn't even done yet, and may never do, especially if she had her way. But still, Bismuth's presence made her just a little bit uneasy. Well, no use worrying about it right now. At the moment, the large Gem was her ally, and she needed to trust that she had Garnet's back. Ruby didn't know what would happen with her involvement in this world, but she did know that she would do her best to make things better.


	6. Chapter 6

One night, when Sapphire had assured me that, even accounting for my unpredictability, her Future Vision showed nothing bad happening if we left the hideout, the two of us left the cave and laid under the stars together. As I gazed up at the specks of white light, among which was our former planet, I sighed deeply. Sapphire turned towards me, "what's wrong Ruby?" she asked. I took a breath. I had debated long and hard about how to broach this subject, and now the moment had come- no matter how nervous I was.

So, I released the air I had been holding in and began to speak, "Sapphire, what do you think happens to us after we die?" I asked. The blue Gem frowned slightly, "die?" she asked. I hummed, "get shattered I mean- what do you think happens?" I reiterated. Sapphire turned back to the sky, "I don't know- even with Future Vision, there are some things no one can know" she replied softly. "You know, most humans believe in something called a soul- it's like a part of their bodies that is connected to them, but at the same time not- like, an energy that resides within their bodies- I've been to visit some of their tribes with Rose when you've been busy and they actually have a lot of different beliefs," I paused.

"There are some humans who believe that the other sentient creatures of this planet are their fallen brethren, and that when you die, you are reborn as the creature you are most in tune with, while there are other humans who believe that they become a part of the Earth itself, and they live on through it- while I've heard others say that every light in the sky is the spirit of a person or animal that has passed on to the next life, and that they became new 'lights' when it is time for them to pass on" I explained. In my last life, I would have internally scoffed at all of these beliefs. Souls didn't exist, and when you died, there was nothing left of you but your mortal body until you were resurrected. But the last 180 years changed my mind.

I looked over at my partner again, "so, what do _you_ believe happens Sapphire?" I asked curiously. She turned back to face the sky, closing her eye again, "hmm, I don't know- those humans beliefs could be true, but who could really tell for sure? I certainly can't" the blue Gem replied softly. I closed my eyes and took a breath, "what if I told you that I knew that at least the existence of souls was right?" I asked. My partner looked at me, a small frown on her face, "what do you mean Ruby?" she asked seriously. I pointedly looked away and gulped, squeezing my eyes shut tight. Imagined scenarios of Sapphire telling me that I was insane and that she couldn't possibly be with someone who believed such things flashed in my mind, causing my resolve to waver.

But a cool hand resting on my cheek and gently pulling me back to face her stopped those in their tracks. The blue Gem had her hair parted to reveal her single large blue eye, and wore the most open expression I had ever seen from her. I stared, captivated by the honesty and trust she had in me. She truly believed that whatever I had to say, no matter now strange it sounded, had to be true. So, I once again took a deep breath, and began: "if I told you that I was a reincarnated soul from another dimension, what- would you say?" I asked, losing some of my confidence part-way through the question. But I kept my gaze fixed on Sapphires wide blue eye- an eye that I had thought was adorable for 80 years. As always, the Cryokinetic future-seeing Gems expression was like stone, but the sincerity in her eye told me that she believed me completely.

After a moment of silence, Sapphire opened her mouth to speak, "I'd say that that you must be telling me the truth, as you haven't lied to me yet, and have no reason to now- I would also say that you have a lot of faith in me to tell me such a thing, and that I'm glad that I've finally earned you trust" she replied eventually. I stared at the other Gem with wide, shining eyes. Slowly they filled with tears, "so, you really don't think I'm crazy, delusional or defective?" I asked softly. "Well, you're most definitively not defective," Sapphire said softly, "I have never heard of a Gem being delusional, and as for being crazy- if you were, I don't think you'd be anywhere near as clear-headed as you are-therefore you must be telling me the truth Ruby," she leaned forwards so her face was inches from mine.

I blushed slightly, not as shy as I used to be, but still feeling myself warm unintentionally. I smiled and looked into her still uncovered eye. Warm, bright and loving, I could say I was very happy that I had Sapphire for a soul mate. I smiled warmly, "thank you for loving me Sapphire" I whispered, as we closed the gap between our bodies and kissed passionately. My tears ran down my face, but we payed them no mind, as both of us knew that they were tears of joy. At that moment, all I wanted was to be closer to my love, the person who was the love of my life. She had excepted me for everything I was, and even though I hadn't told her about the cartoon Steven Universe that we were all from, I knew that whenever I did tell her, she would believe me.

As we pulled out of the kiss I pressed my forehead to hers, "you are the most precious person to me, and you always will be, light of my life, centre of my universe" I whispered these words that were meant for Sapphire's ears only, words that I would never say to another. Kissing me again, Sapphire pulled her face away from mine but leaned into my ear. I felt her cool arms wrap around my body tighter, my natural heat keeping the chill away, "you are the most precious person to _me_ Ruby, and you always will be, light of my life, centre of my universe" she repeated the same words to me with no hesitation and absolute conviction.

It made my whole body warm with pleasant heat. How did I ever live my life without this Gem? Maybe I would have found a nice man in my old world if my desire for that kind of thing had ever kicked in, but it hadn't, and now I was all hers. Sapphire was truly my one and only, and I envied the original Ruby for being the first one to be cherished by her. Which made me realize another thing. I felt like I had taken Ruby's Soul Mate from her. Even though she had never existed in this world, I wondered if she would have hated me for stealing her true love. I had thought about this numerous times, but hardly ever felt guilty for it. Though now- what would she say if she could see me?

Would she despise me for taking Sapphire from her? Would she hate me for _still_ lying to the blue Gem? Would she think I was horrible for seemingly not caring that I had stolen her life? I couldn't get too deep into these thoughts, because my partner had just discovered a weakness I never knew I had. As she had been kissing me, Sapphire had been trailing her hands over my upper body, seeming too lost in wanting to bring me closer to herself without Fusing right now. Just as she traced her fingers around a spot between the back of my left shoulder and spine, a jolt of trepidation shot down it due to my guilt, but that soon went away as she began massaging that area.

Tension I didn't know I had in that area began to melt away and I moaned. It felt so good. "Mm, Sapphire, c-could you, keep massaging that spot please?" I asked. The blue Gem nodded, "yes, you have quite the high amount of tension and energy built up here- you must have been very nervous about telling me that you were a reincarnated soul, huh?" she asked softly. I smiled sheepishly, "well, I didn't know how you'd react- _I_ don't have Future Vision after all" I said, while rubbing back of my head. Sapphire smiled, "you know you didn't have to worry so much- I already love you, whether you are a reincarnated spirit or not- there is nothing in this Universe that could stop me loving you Ruby" she replied, clasping my gemstone-embedded hand with hers.

I sighed deeply, feeling the rest of the tension in my body melting away under my partners gentle massage, and I clasped her hand tightly with mine, "I know, I just- I don't know, I was scared, scared that you'd hate me for lying to you or something" I replied, looking away and blushing. Sapphire leaned forwards and bumped our heads together, "you never lied to me, everything you've done, everything you've said has all been you from the very start- even if you didn't tell me you were reincarnated, that didn't mean that you lied, okay" she asked softly. I sighed and smiled, wrapping my arms around the other Gem, "okay" I replied. We both just lay there that night, watching the stars and thinking over what had happened.

I was so happy that she had accepted me even though I wasn't even from this world to begin with. She was my other half, I wanted to be with her forever, and no one would take her away from me.

 ** _R_**

The next day, Rose called us in to her war room, which was a different section of the cave. Sapphire and I walked their hand-in-hand. We ignored to curious glances of our fellow Crystal Gems and entered the large room. There we found Rose pouring over what looked like a map with Pearl on the other side. She was pointing at various parts of the map, with Rose studying it carefully. The thin Gem was the first one to notice us, and she frowned slightly, "Rose, they're here" she said with a strange tone of voice. I didn't have much time to dwell on that as the large pink Quartz turned to face us. When she saw us, a large beaming smile broke over her face.

"Ah, Ruby, Sapphire, so glad you could make it, we need your experience" she said excitedly. The two of us exchanged glances, then walked over to the leader of the Rebellion, "what do you need help with?" Sapphire asked. Rose gestured towards the map, were several spots were marked, "we've located several Home World structures set up around the earth, but we need you to verify if they've started planning or construction on anything else, and if so, where they are" she explained. I shrugged, "I'm just a grunt, as are Korra and Temple- we weren't told anything except about our mission to protect Sapphire, and I had to sneak La La out myself- I'm sorry, but I barley know anything relevant about these buildings" I explained apologetically.

Rose nodded, "I understand, what about you Sapphire? Is there anything you could tell us about these things with your Future Vision or otherwise that could be of use?" she asked, while Pearl stared at me with a look of disgust on her face. I blinked, what was that about? The blue Gem stepped forwards, "well, with what's been done recently, Blue Diamond and the other members of her Court would have retreated from there to somewhere more defendable- I can see a future where she leaves the planet for Home World because of this, but that's only if Garnet attacks her fortress herself, and I'm still not sure if we'd not only be able to hold the Fusion long enough to do any sustainable damage, but there's also the fact that she's never actually fought before" Sapphire explained.

I nodded, "right, we'd have to train first before we could do any real damage" I agreed. Rose hummed, "I suppose you are right, alright, for now, we continue what we've been doing, thank you both, without your help, there's no way we'd be as prepared as we are" she said with a small smile, but she still seemed troubled by this knowledge. I frowned, wishing I could do more, she seemed to be very weighed down by this Rebellion, and I wanted to do something to help. I hated feeling so useless. Sapphire leaned over and took my hand in hers, "excuse us, we need to go practice with our Fusion" she explained, before we walked out of the room. However, as we walked towards a place to perform our Fusion, a voice called out to me from behind, "Ruby!" I turned to see La La running towards me, a wide excited grin on her face.

I smiled down at her, "hey La La, what's up?" I asked curiously. She grinned, "come look at this!" she exclaimed. I shared a glance with my partner, who shrugged and held my upper arm with her small hands, "sure, but can Sapphire come to?" I asked. The small Lapis Lazuli nodded, "okay" she replied happily, before leading the two of us over to an area that had a small lake. Hey, just because we're Gems, didn't mean we don't still use water. La La stood in front of the lake, "watch" she said excitedly, before closing her eyes and concentrating. Her small blue dress and long hair fluttered around as if caught in a breeze. La La opened her eyes and stared at the water then slowly raised her hands. A fairly large stream of water rose into the air, following the direction her hands moved.

Then she spread out her arms and the water split in two. Closing her fists into tight balls, the water froze. Concentrating, La La slowly opened her fists and the water unfroze. Then she lowered the water back into the lake and began panting. I grinned down at her, "wow La La, you've come so far since I began teaching you, well done" I praised. The small Lapis grinned up at me with pride. My face softened into a smile, "however, you still have a long way to go- the enemy isn't going to wait for your powers to work, or let you rest when you tire yourself out- this is war and you need to be ready for it La La, I don't want to find you in pieces on the battlefield" I explained, internally shuddering from the horrible thought. Sapphire gripped my hand tighter.

The small light blue Gem looked up at me and nodded, "I understand Ruby, I'll work hard to be able to help you!" she exclaimed in determination, "you saved me from being shattered the day I emerged, you taught me even though you had your own training to do and you brought me here with you so I could be free- this is the least I can do for you!" she explained, eyes shining with determination. I smiled, though on the inside, I couldn't help but notice how similar La La's mindset had become to Pearls. I hoped that she wouldn't adopt the same mentality and become determined to 'protect me' even though I could protect myself. I placed one hand on La La's shoulder, "thank you, but make sure you keep an eye out for yourself when you do eventually go out there, okay?" I asked, with a serious expression on my face.

The light blue Gem nodded, and gave a mock salute, "yes ma'am!" she exclaimed with a grin. I nodded, and we left her to her training. We soon reached a clear area that was perfect for our training. We peeked at each other from the corner of our eyes, "so, are you okay to do this again?" I asked Sapphire. Said Gem tilted her head to the side, "as long as it's okay for you, then I'm fine with it" she replied. I nodded and gained a soft smile, before holding out my hand, "may I?" I asked gently. Sapphire reached out and placed her hand in mine and our Gems clinked together. It sent a chill through both our bodies. This was the first time we had touched Gems and it was a little strange, but still nice. I would trust my other half with everything I was, and she would do the same for me. We twirled and spun around the area as our Gems began to glow softly.

I giggled slightly, and Sapphire smiled. She reached up and gave me a small kiss. I grinned and picked her up in my arms, startling a laugh out of my partner. Holding Sapphire above my head, I laughed and twirled her around in circles. Sapphire held her arms out, laughing for the first time since I had met her. As the light from our Gems intensified and combined to form a brilliant purple light, our laughter combined into something deeper and richer, our forms melding together in perfect harmony. And there she was. Garnet stood in the cave, giggling to herself before stretching.

"Well, at least this is beginning to become a bit more natural" she said to herself. Garnet sat on the ground, getting into a meditation position, "time to try and summon our weapon" she spoke. As Garnet focused on summoning her Gauntlets, I hugged Sapphire close to me. "Ruby?" the blue Gem asked. "Hm?" I replied. "Do you remember how 80 years ago while we were travelling here, you say those songs on the ship?" she asked me. "Yeah?" I asked curiously. She looked away, "well, do you mind- singing for me again?" Sapphire asked shyly. I blinked down at her, before smiling, "alright" I replied. The blue Gem wrapped her arms around me.

I looked up in thought, before a wide grin spread over my face, I knew the perfect song. I closed my eyes and began to sing: "Can you feel the love tonight? The peace the evening brings  
The world, for once, in perfect harmony  
With all its living things

So many things to tell her  
But how to make her see  
The truth about my past? Impossible!  
She'd turn away from me

He's holding back, he's hiding  
But what, I can't decide  
Why won't he be the king I know he is  
The king I see inside?

Can you feel the love tonight?  
The peace the evening brings  
The world, for once, in perfect harmony  
With all its living things  
Can you feel the love tonight?  
You needn't look too far  
Stealing through the night's uncertainties  
Love is where they are".

I finished the song with humming. Sapphire smiled widely, "that was beautiful Ruby" she said, "you know a lot of songs". I giggled, "ah, well-" I said and shrugged. "Are all the songs you know from your old world?" she asked curiously. I nodded, "yep, now it's your turn Sapphire, you have to sing a song for me" I said happily. Before she could begin though, Pearl came in, "Garnet, you have a mission" she explained. Garnet looked at her curiously, "so soon? Rose hasn't said anything to us?" I asked.

The thin Gem frowned, "well she told me, hurry and go to her" she prodded. Our Fusion stood up and went to where we could sense the presence of Rose's gemstone. Garnet soon entered the War room. Rose looked up at her and smiled, "ah, Garnet, good, there's a mission for you," she began, sorting through papers. We stood and waited until the Quartz spoke again: "do you see this place here?" she asked, pointing to the map. Walking over, we peered down at it. It was marked topographically, so all we could see were a bunch of squiggly lines. Garnet nodded, "what is it?" she asked.

Rose looked up at us, "it's one of two Kindergartens on this planet, this one-" she pointed at another spot that looked identical to the last one on the map, "is the Prime Kindergarten, and is much too big and well built for us to go after right now, but this one-" here she gestured towards the other place that I assumed was the Beta Kindergarten, "is the Beta Kindergarten, it's far less well built and is more susceptible for attack- for now I just want you to go and do some scouting for us, since, as a Fusion of two such compatible Gems, you'd be bound to be stronger if attacked" Rose explained. We thought for a minute, then, after checking our Future vision to ensure nothing bad would happen, nodded, "alright, we'll do it" Garnet replied.

After all, as long as we were careful, everything should be fine. Right?

To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

_(No one's POV)_

Ruby woke up in a cell. She groaned and pushed herself up. "Oh, god, what happened?" she asked, holding her head, "the last thing I remember is pain and then I blacked out" she mumbled. Suddenly she perked up, "no, wait, I do remember-" she gasped.

 _(Flashback Ruby's POV)_

 _As the light from the Warp Pad died down, Garnet looked around. The Beta Kindergarten was just as she remembered it from the show. Red Sandstone everywhere with Injectors littering the area. Except this time the Injectors were on and were drilling into the ground, making the dirt Garnet was standing on shake and tremble. There were also a few Gems scattered here and there, mostly Peridots running maintenance on the Injectors._

 _Seeing that, the Fusion grinned. With everyone so focused on their work coupled with the amount of noise those Injectors were making, sneaking around to get a good look at what was going on should be easy. However, Sapphire was still unsure, "we should check my Future Vision before we do anything else, just in case" she said. I agreed, so Sapphire quickly went through multiple futures. She still had a bit of trouble with that, but pushed ahead for our sake. "Okay, as long as we take special care to not be seen , and keep our movements limited to when the Injectors are activated, we should be fine" she said._

 _I nodded, "right". Carefully, so as to not be seen, Garnet crept through the Kindergarten, keeping two of her eyes open. Her third eye was drawn shut. As she moved, I glared at all the injectors and Gems around us. It infuriated me to see what they were doing to my home up close. "Take it easy Ruby, the sooner we get the information for Rose, the sooner we can get out of this horrible place" Sapphire soothed. I took a deep breath and exhaled. Right, the mission. We could do this. We could- oh no. As Garnet had been moving around the ledge, a piece of rock broke off and rolled towards a Gem who had just finished inspecting an Injector which was planting a different Gem into the wall._

 _We froze. We didn't even dare to think anything. The Peridot stopped and looked down at the piece of rock at her feet. I began panicking, 'oh god, oh god, oh god, we're dead! We haven't even learned how to summon our weapon yet!' I thought. Sapphire instantly began looking through the multiple futures we now had access to, trying to find which one was the most likely to occur so we could be prepared. It was at that moment that the green Gem looked up. 'Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!' was the only thought going through my head, as her eyes widened and she began readying the weapons that had been built into her limb enhancers. I noticed more Peridots coming over and fixing up their weapons. I decided to just say to hell with it and leapt from the canyon wall just as the other Gems began firing at Garnet. As soon as she hit the ground we were off and running. "Uh, Sapphire! Now might be a really good time to help me!" I yelled at my partner._

 _"_ _Hold on a moment" the blue Gem said calmly. Garnet dodged a laser from behind and gasped. Looking behind us, I saw at least twenty Gems chasing after us. I turned to face forwards again, "what do you mean 'hold on a moment'!? we're getting shot at!" I screamed, but outwardly, Garnet tried to keep focused on running and dodging the lasers. Suddenly her foot got caught on something and she tripped. She landed face first on the ground. "Damn it" I mumbled, as our Fusion pushed herself up._

 _"_ _Don't move!" a voice said from right in front of us. Garnet froze, 'oh, shit!' I thought. "Who are you, identify yourself!" the voice demanded. Sapphire was still scouring the future and I was paralyzed by fear. What could we do? This was just supposed to be a simple scouting mission, Sapphire had said that everything would be fine! We didn't even know how to summon Garnets weapon yet! Connect yourself with the energy of the Universe and all living matter? What did that even mean!? Suddenly we felt a horrible pain I hadn't felt in years shoot through our bodies. Garnet screamed, I screamed, Sapphire screamed. I tried to hold onto my partner, but the pain was making it hard to think._

 _It felt like it was tearing us all apart. Back on Home World, I'd become familiar with the pain of Gem Destabilizer's, or I thought I had at least. But that was usually just for a minute or so to teach me a lesson. This Gem was pressing it right into Garnets back, sending arks of agonizing electricity throughout her form. Sapphire screamed and I cried as I felt our Fusion coming undone. I clung on as hard as I could, but with a cloud of smoke, both myself and my partner returned to our Gemstones and knew no more._

 _(End of flashback)_

(No one's POV)

Ruby screamed and punched the wall of her cell, "damn it! how could I make such a stupid mistake!?" she demanded to herself. The red Gem stood up and began pacing, "of _course_ she'd have a Destabilizer! Why not?! The Universe must have decided I was too happy, so it went and put a goddamn rock on our path!" Ruby glared up at the ceiling of the cell, "*beep* you Universe!" she yelled, giving it the rude finger. Looking at the entrance to her cell, she saw a metal door. "They must not have the destabilizing force fields yet" Ruby muttered to herself.

She went over to the door and summoned her boxing glove. Then she began punching and kicking the door repeatedly, "hey! Bastard clods! You better let me out of here right now along with Sapphire, and I _might_ consider asked my leader to spare your Gems!" I screamed. I punched the door harder, but didn't even dent it. What was this stuff made of? "I mean it goddamn it! and you better not have hurt Sapphire or I swear I will bring hell down on all your asses! I know you're watching assholes!" I continued beating at the door, getting more and more furious and worried about my partner. Some part of me knew that I should probably calm down and start to think about this situation more, but the other part was too upset to care. I was trapped in a strange place with strange Home World Gems and Sapphire was nowhere to be seen. Who knew what they could be doing to her.

Who knew what they would do to _me_. Were they taking us back to Home World? Were they going to Shatter us? I screamed and yelled, letting all my anger out. Eventually I collapsed in exhaustion. Even Gems didn't have unlimited energy. Soon all I could do was sit on the ground in the corner, sobbing and shivering with fear. What was going to happen to us? The terror wrapped around me and choked not only my physical form, but my very Gem, causing me to simply sit there, frozen like a statue. My eyes were shut tight with tears streaming down my face and all I could do was beg anyone who would listen to save us. I felt utterly helpless. For the first time I had no plan, no thoughts of escape to give me strength and determination.

Slowly, the hope and will drained from my body and left me nearly catatonic. I didn't respond when the door to my cell opened, didn't react when two large Quartz's entered, barely acknowledged when they roughly grabbed me by the arms and dragged me out of the cell. The two unknown Gems took me down multiple hallways until finally we reached a large room with some kind of machine in it. Behind what I assumed was a safety screen was a Peridot, and she looked at me with distaste, "so, the Rebels have a Ruby as well?" she asked. The Peridot scoffed, "well, she looks just as weak as I thought, though it is hard to believe that they also had a Sapphire with them" she said.

My eyes widened at the last part, regaining some of their spark. I began to struggle a bit, causing the two Quartz's holding me to tighten their grip on my arms. "Where?" I asked, ignoring the pain in my arms in favor of this piece of information, "where is she? Where's Sapphire, where is she?!" I screamed, kicking and flailing as I was taken into the room, "where is my partner?!" I demanded to know, struggling with renewed vigor against my captors. However, their grip was like steel, like that crushing room I had been put into all those years ago- it almost felt like I was going to poof from how tight they were holding me, but I paid it no mind, continuing to struggle and scream.

"Place her in the machine, she'll be a good test subject for it" the Peridot said, her voice sounding like it came from some kind of speaker. This made my insides freeze, like I had just swallowed one of Sapphire's icicles. I turned my attention to the metal contraption before me. What was it? _what_ was I going to be a test subject _for_? I tried to get away, but the two Quartz's, being much stronger than me, were able to place me into a chair with little resistance. The machine had the basic shape of a Gem scanner, only much bigger. A floating screen with the Peridot's face appeared above me and looked me over. I snarled at her, but even to me it felt hollow, weak. "Good, you're all strapped in, now we can begin," she said. Her voice was so much like our Peridot's, the future Crystal Gem, that for a moment I couldn't help but wonder if this _was_ her, or if all Peridots sounded like this.

The Peridot turned away from me for a moment, "Gem memory regress starting" she said calmly. My eyes widened, Gem memory regress? They were going to wipe my memory?! I began to panic, how much would I forget? Would I lose everything so they could reprogram me with Home World propaganda? Would I- would I forget _Sapphire?!_ I began to hyperventilate, struggling madly as the memory Eraser whirred to life "no! stop! Please!" I begged, thrashing around like my life depended on it. The Peridot simply stared at me emotionlessly. "Nooohooo!" I screamed, terror coursing through every inch of my construct, as tears welled up in my eyes.

I would lose everything I was. Everything that made me _me_. But I couldn't get away. I was trapped here with no way to escape. The tears streamed down my face without end. Was this it? was this the end? I'd come so far and just when it finally, _finally_ looked like things were going well, it just- _ends?_ The machine shot a beam of white energy down my body, right into my Gemstone. I screamed out in pure despair, as my memories began flowing away. Memories of this machine, of the Peridot, being brought to this room, being angry in my cell, beating at my cell. Thankfully, the machine worked very slowly, removing one memory at a time, plenty of time for a rescue attempt.

 _(No one's POV)_

Suddenly the wall across from Ruby and the Home World Gems exploded inwards, sending debris flying through the room. The Peridot jumped, startled, as the two Quartz's redyed themselves for a fight. A blue blur shot through the room, past the shocked guards, who had no time to see what had gone past them, as a familiar pink Quartz Gem and a Pearl with two Rapier's were on them in seconds. The blue blur stopped in front of the Peridot, who was staring at her with wide eyes. Sapphire was utterly furious, and she showed it by freezing the entire surrounding floor with a thick layer of ice.

The terrified green Gem was soon frozen to the floor, and helpless to escape the wrath of the blue Gem who floated towards her. Sapphire's eye couldn't be seen, but that somehow made her even scarier. The former Aristocrat slowly formed a long dagger on her hand out of ice, and held it to the shaking Peridot's Gemstone, "turn it off and release her, _now!_ " Sapphire hissed. The tech Gem quickly turned around and shakily turned the machine off. By then Rose had come over, and this made the enemy Gem even more scared. Once the memory regressor had been shut off, and she was sure all the enemies had been taken care of, Sapphire rushed over to Ruby.

Quickly getting her out of the restraints, the blue Gem cradled her love in her arms, gently caressing her face the way she liked it, while tenderly wiping the remnants of her tears away. Sapphire leaned down, "Ruby? Ruby, can you hear me?" she asked softly, almost pleading. The red Gem stirred slowly, blinking up at Sapphire's face. "S-Sapphire?" she asked. The blue Gem smiled lovingly down at her partner, "yes, I'm here" she said softly. Sapphire leaned back, so that Ruby could look around. After she did, her gaze traveled back to her partner, a look of confusion on her face, "where are we?" she asked. Sapphire frowned, "how much do you remember?" she asked gently, hoping beyond hope that the vision she'd had was right. Ruby frowned, "I remember, we were given a mission by Rose- she wanted us to do recognizance in the Beta Kindergarten as Garnet," she began, bringing a hand up to her head.

"We snuck around for a little while, but then accidentally knocked a rock onto the ground," Ruby lowered her hand and looked up at her partner, "the Peridots who were working their saw us and began shooting lasers at Garnet- I remember running, and tripping, then another Gem, I assume it was another Peridot was behind Garnet and got us with a Gem Destabilizer- I-I tried to hold onto you, but I was being ripped away from you, and then- nothing" the red Gem looked around in confusion, "where are we? Did those Peridots bring us here?" she asked.

Sapphire sighed, "they did, and they tried to hurt you, but Rose managed to rescue me, then we came here and rescued you, understand?" she asked gently. Ruby nodded, and Sapphire helped her to her feet, "let's bring this place down then get out of here, okay?" the blue Gem asked. Ruby shivered as she looked around and saw the machine. Sapphire frowned again, "Ruby? What's wrong?" she asked gently. Of course, she knew what was wrong, but she couldn't say it, her partner had already been through so much today, she didn't want to cause her anymore pain. Ruby moved closer to Sapphire, "that machine, I don't like it- can we get rid of that first?" she asked, eyeing it as though it were going to come to life and bite her.

Sapphire nodded resolutely, "of course, I don't like it either". Ruby suddenly grabbed her partner in her arms, causing the other Gem to let out a squeak of surprise and a giggle. She lifted the blue Gem up and spun her around, while both laughed happily. With a flash of purple light, Garnet was there. She stared at the machine with a glare. No doubt it was something used to torture innocent Gems, like the crushing room had been. Suddenly there was another flash of light, and a heavy weight was on Garnet's hands. Looking down with a gasp, the Fusion saw light blue and pink Gauntlets around her hands. She grinned and walked over to the machine. Drawing back her one fist, Garnet brought it forward with all the strength she had and was slightly surprised at the result.

A huge hole was torn in the machine. Grinning in satisfaction, Garnet took immense pleasure in smashing the machine to pieces until there was nothing left. Turning back to face Rose, who was standing with Pearl next to her they quickly walked back over to their leader, noting all the bubbled Gems near the two. They guessed that those must have been the enemies Gems and dismissed it, "come on, let's get out of here" Garnet said with a shudder. Rose nodded and the three quickly rushed out of the room that held the now destroyed machine.

 ** _R_**

 ** _(Sapphire's POV)_**

Once we'd arrived back at the Hideout, Rose and Pearl went back to their business. Meanwhile I sat next to Ruby, while we stared up at the stars. I turned to look at her when she sighed. Frowning, I placed my hand on top of hers, "Ruby? Are you okay?" I asked gently, knowing that she'd just been through a lot and needed a gentle hand. The red Gem looked up at me, and her eyes showed a large amount of fear, "Sapphire," she whispered. I squeezed her hand gently, "it's okay, you don't have to pretend to be strong around me Ruby, I know" I whispered.

Tears welled up in Ruby's eyes and she wrapped her arms around me. I held her shaking form in my arms as she sobbed, gently stroking her hair, "shh, it's alright, just let it out, shhhhh" I whispered. Ruby clung to me in a desperate fashion, but I didn't mind- anything was fine to help my partner. Slowly, through her cries, Ruby began to speak, "I don't even remember what happened Sapphire! It's just gone!" she choked, then continued, "if they could wipe that much of my memory with that thing, they could have easily taken more! I could have forgotten you completely, and my home, the Crystal Gems, my past life- everything!" Ruby cried.

She was shaking violently, "I-I could have f-f-forgotten you! They, c-could have taken you from m-me and I'd never h-have known!" she sobbed. She clung onto me as though her life depended on it, still shaking with desperate sobs. We sat there in silence for a moment, before I made a decision. I opened my mouth and began to sing: "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away

The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping  
I dreamt I held you in my arms  
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken  
So I hung my head, and I cried

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away

I'll always love you and make you happy  
If you will only say the same  
But if you leave me to love another,  
You'll regret it all one day

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine  
You make me happy when skies are grey  
You never know, dear, how much I love you  
Please don't take my sunshine away

Please don't take my sunshine away"

I slowly finished the song. Ruby's eyes were wide as she stared at me. I giggled slightly, "don't look at me like that, I remember the words from when you sang them" I said in mock-defensiveness. Ruby smiled slightly. I gestured to my lap and my partner complied. She lay her head down on my lap, brushing her hand over the soft fabric- although it was just a projection like every other part of my body, it still felt like a real dress. Slowly, gently, I ran my hands over her heated face and hair.

Ruby sighed and closed her eyes in contentment. "I'm so sorry that I let us get captured, even if you don't remember it Ruby" I said softly. Ruby nuzzled her face closer to my hand that held my Gem. She gently kissed the stone. I blushed slightly, as it sent tingles through my form but held my hand on her face, "as long as you're here with me, I know everything will be alright" she replied. I smiled softly. Yes, I was sure it would.

To Be Continued


	8. Chapter 8

_(Ruby's POV)_

The next day their thankfully wasn't any missions or fighting, so I spent the day with Sapphire. We both decided to try and get our minds off of what had happened yesterday, so, after letting Rose know, and swearing we would be careful, the two of us left our base to take a relaxing walk through the woods. We walked as close together as we could, holding hands the whole time. It was nice, the peace and quiet, especially after how horrible I assumed yesterday had been- for both of us. Part of me wanted to know what had happened, but another part was just glad that it was over, that I was safe and back where I belonged.

As we reached the clearing in the forest where we'd spent that one night under the stars 80 years ago, we sat down together and looked around. I smiled, "you know, I still can't believe it's been 80 years since we first met" I said, almost absentmindedly. Sapphire hummed quietly, then turned to face me, "Ruby?" she asked softly. I looked over at her, "yeah?" I asked curiously. The blue Gem blushed slightly, but continued in a voice that betrayed none of her nervousness, "would you tell me about your previous life?" she asked. I blinked and stared at her in confusion, "sure, but why do you want to know? You haven't asked before" I wondered out loud. Sapphire smiled softly, "well, I figured that I still have a lot to learn about you- your first life is one of the main reasons that you are who you are, so I would like to learn about it and who you were before, as long as you don't mind that is?" she replied.

I smiled, "okay, if you really want to know, but I should warn you that my previous life was nowhere near as exciting as this one, so you might find it a bit boring" I replied. Sapphire shrugged, "I don't mind, tell me? Please?" she asked. I chuckled lightly, "okay, okay, no need to break out the puppy eye" I said with a grin. The other Gem laughed, and I turned my attention back to the sky, "well, in my first life, I was a regular human woman, my name- well, I had four of them, my first name, two middle name's and a last name. Most humans only have their first name, one middle name and their last name, anyway, my full name was Bethany Sharon Kelly Middleton-".

 ** _R_**

As I began to finish telling the first part of my first life's story to Sapphire, I noticed that she was strangely silent. I pushed myself off the grass and looked at her with concern, "are you okay?" I asked gently. Sapphire shook her head and smiled at me. Then she sat up as well, "I'm perfectly fine, but I didn't know that humans had such things- mental disorders-" she went quiet again for a second, before she shook her head and again smiled, "actually, I was wondering, since I know about your previous life, would you like me to call you by your old name instead?" I felt shocked that she had actually asked me that, but then I felt touched that she would care enough to consider my feelings about my identity in my first life at all.

After all, that life wasn't _this one_. I wasn't Bethany anymore and I had already accepted it. But it was a nice gesture on Sapphire's part to ask me. I smiled and shook my head, "no, it's okay- I may have been Bethany before, but that was only for around 80 years, and I _have_ been Ruby for far longer than that," I paused and shook my head. But I couldn't stop the sadness from entering my voice when I spoke again: "so it's okay, really, I'm fine" I said softly. The blue Gem wrapped her hands around my arm and leaned her head on my shoulder, "okay, but if you ever miss it, just tell me alright?" Sapphire asked. I smiled lovingly, and pulled Sapphire closer to me with my unoccupied arm, Then I stared up at the rising sun for a moment, "um, actually-" I paused. My partner hummed, "yes?" she asked softly. I blushed slightly, "could call me by my old name, just one time?" I asked, a slight plead in my voice.

The blue Gem leaned up and looked me in the eye. She smiled at me, "of course, I would do anything to make you happy, because you are my most precious person- I love you so much Bethany" she said, before she leaned up and kissed me. I melted. Both from having her say that she loved me using my old name and from the kiss. No one in my old life had ever told me that they loved me in this way, so it meant a lot. I pulled away slowly, and gently reached up to her face. Hesitating only slightly, I brushed her bangs away and stared deep into her single eye, "I'm so lucky to be loved by someone as wonderful as you, truly I am- thank you, for everything" I whispered. Then I leaned up and she leaned down. Our lips met and we kissed slowly and softly. When I pulled away I leaned my forehead against hers, pulled her down to the grass and we just lay there and watched the sky slowly light up with gold's, light pinks and light blues, and I knew that I was right where I was meant to be.

 ** _R_**

A few days later, we were fused again, and trying to practice with Garnets Gauntlets. However, nothing was happening. I began to get more and more frustrated, "oh come on! we already did it once! It can't be that hard!" I exclaimed. Within our Fusion I was standing up and glaring at Garnets hands. They were our normal hands, one with the Indigo glove covering her hand and going up her arms to her elbow. However, our Gemstones hadn't even flickered with light, let alone formed a Gauntlet. Suddenly something happened. A butterfly seemingly made of light appeared and flew towards us. I gasped and stepped back.

"Ruby?" Sapphire, who was standing next to me asked in concern. Another butterfly appeared, and another, and another. Eventually there was an entire swarm of them. I looked around with wide eyes and whimpered, "oh no". Sapphire stared at all the glowing white butterfly's, circling over our heads, "Ruby, what is this?" she asked. Suddenly, with speed normal butterfly's would never have, all of them dive-bombed and headed straight towards me. I panicked and ran, but I was too slow. All the butterflies swarmed me at once, and I screamed as I was engulfed in a maelstrom of nightmares. As the thoughts slammed straight into me with a force that I couldn't describe, I remembered the terror I felt when Garnet was poofed by those Peridots. The desperation that flowed through me as I felt Sapphire being ripped away from me.

I began hyperventilating, as more and more thoughts piled up on top of those. Everything that had happened and that I had done while I was part of Home World. The torturous training I went through for so long. The memories of what I knew was coming in the future, and the guilt for the things that hadn't happened yet. The weight of those memories and the guilt I harboured for keeping these things secret from Sapphire. But that wasn't even the tip of the iceberg.

All the thoughts left me and flew up into the sky above me and I collapsed onto the ground with tears streaming from my eyes, as Sapphire watched on in what I presumed was shock. I stared up in complete terror as the butterflies swarmed together in the air. There were so many thoughts, both for the past and the future. I felt like I was being crushed. The nightmares merged together into one large form, her eyes staring down at me with loathing. I sobbed as the original Ruby showed just how much she despised me for stealing everything from her. For stealing her one true love. Every part of my physical form was trembling, both with terror and immense guilt. I couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't. Suddenly, everything faded into black as both Sapphire and I screamed when Garnet fell apart.

The blue Gem pushed herself up to her hands and knees, staring at me in shock, "Ruby, w-wait-" she gasped. But I was already on my feet, rushing away into the trees as I sobbed and screamed. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew that I couldn't go through that again. It was too much. It was all too much!

 ** _R_**

I ran through the forest, not paying attention to anything around me. I didn't even notice that my Pyrokinesis had activated due to my emotions and that I was now leaving a trail of black footprints in my wake. I sobbed uncontrollably as I ran, my emotions running wild within me. I couldn't calm down. I was so upset and angry and overwhelmed. All I could do was run, my tears falling too fast to turn to steam on my face. My vision was blurred by tears of pain and anguish, so I didn't even notice the person in front of me until I crashed headfirst into them, sending us both toppling to the floor.

"Hey! Watch where you're-" a familiar voice yelled, and it took me a moment to register it as Pearls. I still couldn't see very well, but I saw her stare at me through my blurry vision. "Ruby?" she asked in slight concern, hesitantly moving towards me, "what happened?" she asked. I shook my head, "I don't want to talk about it" I replied, trying to wipe away my tears and doing nothing to stem their flow. I tried to stand up, but fell down again. I looked down at my body. I'd only just noticed that I was trembling up a storm.

I grimaced and pushed myself up on shaky legs, before stumbling over to the nearest tree. Leaning on it, I began to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm my still raging emotions. I tried to keep from setting the tree on fire, but the truth was at the moment I wasn't really that invested in nature. Flashes of the thoughts that had spilt Garnet up still plagued my mind and a shudder went through my physical form. I clenched my eyes shut, trying to block them out, but the more I did the more they flowed through my mind. I wasn't stupid. I remembered that all these thoughts wouldn't be good for me, or for Garnet, but I just couldn't deal with them.

There were too many, add in my newly retrieved memories of what had been done to me by those Home World Gems, and I wasn't even sure I could keep my own form stable. I heard the sound of crunching leaves behind me. My mind noticed the yellow and red leaves on the ground for the first time and supplied me with the knowledge that Autumn would be coming soon. "Ruby" a voice said. It was Pearl again. I groaned. I couldn't deal with her too, " _go away Pearl_!" I practically snarled. Suddenly the tip of a blade touched my back. I froze, the memories of what had been done to me by Home World, suddenly replaced with memories of the first time I saw this Gem. The duel sword-wielding Pearl, who had stormed Blue Diamonds Court with Rose, the one who tried to poof Sapphire.

Another, shorter sword was flung into the dirt next to me, and I stared at it. "Something is obviously bothering you Ruby, and if you don't want to talk then that's fine" Pearl said, "but if you need to let out your emotions, then do so against me, because this isn't a suggestion, this is a challenge!" she cried. I looked at her from over my shoulder. She held only one sword and stared at me with determination in her eyes. Determination to do what I wasn't sure, but either way I felt invigorated. I slowly reached over and grasped the handle of the blade with my left hand. "You do know that I've never used a sword in my life right?" I asked. "Well then, think of this as your first lesson" the thin Gem replied. I smirked slightly as I turned to face her, "my emotions aren't exactly stable right now- I could burn you" I stated.

Pearl held her Rapier at the ready, "challenge accepted" she proclaimed. I crouched and held the blade at an angle that felt right, above my head pointing downwards, with my left hand stretched forwards. The two end fingers of my left hand were cured down with my thumb raised as well as my two tallest fingers. I held my hand at a slight angle facing forwards and stared at Pearl. I knew she was fast, and this was my first time handling a sword. I knew that I probably didn't stand a chance, but this wasn't a to-the-death fight or anything. This was just to relieve stress. So even if I failed spectacularly, which I was bound to do, I would put everything I had into this fight. Pearl raised an eyebrow at my unusual stance, but shook off her curiosity to focus on the fight. Even though she was a novice, Ruby looked completely comfortable in that position.

And it didn't have any openings that she could see. She would have to be careful. Meanwhile, Sapphire had been looking for her partner, wanting to make sure she was okay after that disaster, only to find this peculiar scene. She decided to wait and watch, because all the futures where she interfered ended badly for her love. Neither Pearl nor I moved from our positions, both waiting for the other to strike first. I sure as hell wasn't going to make the first move after all. A breeze blew through the forest clearing, sending leaves blowing around us. A single leaf fluttered to the ground between us. Before it could touch the dirt, both Pearl and I had moved. I was honestly surprised by my own speed, but maybe I had just gotten stronger since coming to Earth.

The thin Gem brought her sword around towards my midsection. However, I brought my blade down and around in a smooth motion, blocking the Rapier. A spray of sparks flew between us, as we suddenly disengaged and shot backwards at the same time. Pearl scrutinised me carefully as I resumed my starting position. "Well, for a first timer, you sure know how to use that sword" she said. I smiled ever so slightly, "not really, I'm just making it up as I go" I replied, focusing on the other Gem's feet. They would be the first to move, and it was from that that I would get an idea of what my sparring partner was going to do next.

Suddenly, Pearl leapt into the air and slashed at me. I jumped back, dodging and weaving around all the attacks that I could. A few slashes and stabs got me and I stumbled backwards. But I was determined to get my anger out. I let out a yell and leapt forwards again. We went backwards and forwards several more times, before Pearl managed to get behind me, hit me in the back with the handle of her sword, slapped me hand when I whirled around, thus forcing me to drop the sword, and slammed her knee into my stomach. I gasped and was thrown to the ground. It had all happened so fast! She was defiantly the terrifying renegade all right. I looked up as Pearl pointed her sword at my chest, "I win" she said with a smirk. I smiled slightly and took her hand when she offered it, "yeah, you did- thanks for the match Pearl, it helped" I replied, as the other Gem helped me stand up. I picked up the practice sword and held it out to her. Pearl shook her head, "keep it- you were pretty good with it, I'm sure with a bit more practice you would be able to take out many Home World Gems" she said with a grin. I smiled in thanks.

This was the first gift I had received in this new life, and I swore that I was going to learn how to use it right. "Ruby!" a familiar voice called from behind me. I turned to see Sapphire coming towards me. I smiled apologetically, rubbing the back of my neck, "he he, sorry about before, I guess I just needed some time to vent" I said. When the blue Gem reached me she threw her arms around my neck, kissing me deeply. I froze for a moment, then melted into her embrace. When she pulled away, she frowned, "are you feeling better now?" she asked softly. I sighed happily and nodded, "uh huh, I'm okay, at least for now" I replied. Sapphire smiled, "it's getting late, we should return to the base" she said. I nodded and the three of us walked back through the forest together.

 ** _R_**

That night, Sapphire and I decided to try sleeping. I hadn't slept for many, many years now, and though I no longer needed to, I did enjoy sleep when I could. I told my partner and she decided to try it with me. We lay down on a bed of leaves and moss, and Sapphire turned to face me, "so, what do we do now?" she asked. "Well, we close our eyes, breathe slowly and deeply, relax and clear our minds. Eventually we should drift off into sleep" I replied. We both lay down on the moss and got comfortable. I wrapped my arms around Sapphire and closed my eyes.

Eventually, I managed to fall asleep. Unfortunately it wasn't very restful.

 _*Ruby's dream*_

 _I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I was in total darkness. Looking down at myself I gasped. I was human! I ran around in the dark looking for my partner. I was just with Sapphire, she had to be around here somewhere! Suddenly I stopped. Wait- I was human? I looked around myself and down at my body again. The last thing I remembered was trying to sleep- was I dreaming? I relaxed. So that's what was going on. It was just a dream. I sighed in relief. Suddenly a huge rumble caught my attention. The ground shook and I hit it hard as I lost my balance. Before I could push myself to feet, I heard something that froze me in my tracks, "you!" the word was like thunder, and spoken in a voice I immediately recognised._

 _After all, I had been using it for the last hundred and eighty years. I turned around slowly with wide eyes, and gasped in horror at what I saw. A giant Ruby was storming towards me, her face looking utterly furious. I screamed and began to run, but the giant Gem, being much bigger than I was, bypassed me easily and scooped me up in one red fist. I screamed in shock and fear as I was lifted incredibly fast and brought to eye level with the Ruby. I struggled as hard as I could, but her grip was like iron. I could feel the Gem in her palm digging into my flesh and I stared up at her in terror. My heart was pounding like a drum in my chest and I couldn't stop trembling._

 _"_ _D-don't hurt me, please!" I begged, flinching away from the enraged eyes glaring daggers into me. It felt like my very soul was vulnerable to the anger being directed at me, and I was so terrified that I felt like I couldn't breathe. All it would need was for her to tighten her grip a little more and it would crush my ribcage. I realised in that moment just how weak human bodies were compared to Gem ones. Ruby snarled at me, her lips curling up angrily, "you're pathetic" she spat. I flinched at her tone and words. "To think you're the one living my life now- you're just a pathetic little weakling who doesn't deserve it," Ruby said. "I-I didn't mean to, I didn't choose to be reincarnated as you!" I cried, feeling tear fill my eyes as I tried to defend myself._

 _Ruby sneered, "didn't mean to?" she mocked, "where's all your confidence now? Or was that just another lie?" she demanded. "That's all you know how to do, isn't it? You lied to Sapphire about who you are and what you know, you're lying to yourself about your own identity- you even lied by not telling Sapphire that you had lied! This whole life is one big lie!" I lowered my head, trembling harshly. I knew it was true. "How dare you try to take my partner from me!" she boomed. I shut my eyes tight, breathing harshly, "Sapphire is_ _ **my**_ _lover! Not yours! You're just a mistake who shouldn't even be in this world! First you stole my life, then you think that you can steal her?! I'm the one who saved her, who loved her! Everything I did, I did for_ _ **her**_ _! You're just a liar and a thief! You should just disappear!" Ruby screamed, reeling back and throwing me as hard as she could. I screamed as I began to fade away into the darkness. I had died- I should have stayed dead and not even considered trying to live this life. It was more than I deserved. Finally, everything I was faded away into nothing._

 _*End dream*_

I screamed as I shot up into a sitting position, eyes wide and wild with fear. If I had a heart and ribs in my chest, it would be hammering harshly against them. I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Then I buried my face into my arms and sobbed. My cries were of pain and deep, deep guilt. The dream Ruby was right- who was I trying to fool? I didn't belong here in this body, this life. I really was just a thief, stealing everything I had from the real Ruby. A movement from next to me caught my attention, "Ruby?" Sapphire asked, sitting up and moving closer to me, "what's wrong?" she asked in concern. I looked away in thought. Should I tell her? I had told her mostly everything else. _"But not about the future you haven't"_ a voice that sounded an awful lot like the dream Ruby said in my mind. I flinched and clenched my fists. It was one of the big things that was burdening me, so I decided to go for it. "Sapphire, I-I'm sorry" I murmured. She reached over and touched my arm, "what for?" she asked gently.

I took a deep breath then exhaled. "For stealing the real Ruby's life- for taking her away from you before you even got a chance to know her- I-I'm not ready to explain how I know this yet, but I know for a fact that if she were here, she'd have loved you as well- she would have loved you so much, that after your first Fusion, she would have wanted to stay Garnet with you forever- wanted to create a new person with you, one who was comprised of your love for each other- this isn't my life, It's her's, and I'm just a worthless thief- not only did I steal her from you, but I've also stolen you from her. I don't deserve you or your love, especially since if it weren't for me- you'd be able to be together with your true Soul mate" by this point I was sobbing uncontrollably, completely unaware of my surroundings.

So it came as a shock when two cool arms wrapped around me from behind in a loving embrace. Sapphire stroked my hair and ran her hands over my face, wiping away my tears, "is that why, when we tried Fusing before, that a giant Ruby appeared? She was a vision of the alternate one, and you felt guilty about taking her life from her?" I sobbed again, nodding. "Oh Bethany" she said softly, making me look at her. We very rarely used my old name. "For everything else you are, you can also be very silly sometimes," she said. I blinked in confusion, was that supposed to make me feel better? "Even if I fell in love with the original Ruby in another world, this is the one we're living in, and you are the Ruby who exists here," Sapphire paused and placed her hand on my cheek.

"When you were reincarnated, your Gem was still under the earth, and you didn't even have a physical form yet. It is only when this happens, that the Gem we are- our thoughts personality, everything, is born. This means that the other Ruby never existed at all in this reality, it has always been you Bethany, you didn't replace anyone, and you haven't stolen me from anyone either, because I always have been and was always meant to be yours," she leaned forwards and kissed me gently. But I wanted more, so I deepened the kiss. As she didn't pull away, I guessed that Sapphire liked it. As we kissed, I began crying again, letting out all my guilt. When we pulled away, we leaned our foreheads together, with me still sobbing desperately.

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled my soul mate closer. Sapphire ran her hands through my hair, whispering gently to me: "shh, it's okay, just let it all out, shh, you have nothing to worry about- I will never ever leave you" she said. We just sat their together for hours, the blue Gem cradling my body and whispering words of comfort and love, and me clinging onto her desperately as though she was going to disappear in a moment's notice if I didn't, while sobbing uncontrollably. Eventually, my tears ran out and I lay my head down on her lap. "Thank you" I whispered. "For what?" Sapphire asked softly. I smiled slightly, as she ran her hand over my face, "for everything". I knew that I still had one last thing to tell her- one last thought that was alarming me, but I couldn't tell her right now. Both of us were emotionally exhausted and needed to rest. In fact, I was awed by Sapphires strength. To be able to take all of the things I have hit her with recently, everything that's happened, I was sure anyone else would have run screaming.

But not her. Sapphire had stayed with me through everything, and even offered support. If ever there was a doubt in my mind about this Gem loving me, well, I think someone just stuffed them in a ship and shot them into space. The blue Gem began humming the same melody she had when we'd fused for the second time. I slowly relaxed. All the tension in my body melted away. I closed my eyes, and fell into a dreamless slumber.

The be continued


	9. Chapter 9

A few days later, we tried fusing again. I held out my hand in offer, and Sapphire took it. I then picked her up and began spinning her. The blue Gem laughed and I closed my eyes, _'you can do this'_ I thought. Our Gems began to glow, our bodies turning to light that melded together. When Garnet opened her eyes again, she found that she felt a little closer. Before, due to everything, I had been purposely keeping my distance emotion and memory wise. But now that some of my issues had been resolved, I decided not to hold back as much, making Garnet a bit more even in terms of personality and her components closeness.

The Fusion once again summoned her gauntlets, and this time they came easily. I sighed in relief. Then, from within Garnet, I examined them more closely. They were much like our form, both splotched with light blue and pink, like someone had haphazardly thrown paint over them, and they covered our Gems from sight. I had to admit that I liked this form more than Garnets later ones. The pink and light blue made us look prettier, and more innocent- which would actually come in handy when we started fighting, as our enemies would underestimate us. It was also a bit to do with the fact that pink and light blue were two of my favorite colours. "Wow, our weapons look nice" Garnet said, looking them over.

She blinked in confusion, as, within her mind, Sapphire turned to me, "now what?"she asked calmly. I grinned slightly, "alright, I'll take over for now, then once you get the hang of it, you can help as well, is that okay?" I asked. The blue Gem nodded, "that sounds reasonable, seeing as I don't know how to fight yet" Sapphire replied. I smiled reassuringly, "don't worry Sapphire, I'll teach you!" I replied cheerfully. "Actually," I began thoughtfully, "why don't we do that now?" I asked, as we split up. I caught my partner in my arms as we un-fused, then I placed her safely onto the ground. "Okay, now, I was thinking it might be better to teach you karate, since I know that better than anything else".

Sapphire tilted her head to the side slightly, "karate?" she asked curiously. I chuckled slightly. "What's funny?" the blue Gem asked. I held up my hands and shook my head, "nothing, nothing- I just think you're so adorable when you do things like that" I said with a grin. The blue Gem said nothing, but her cheeks seemed to turn a slightly darker blue. I punched my Gem embedded hand into my open palm, "okay, let's get training!" I exclaimed. "The first thing I want to teach you is Tai-Chi, it is a form of Chinese Martial arts from my old life, that is mostly used as relaxation and which promotes wellness, relaxation and good energy flow, unfortunately we don't have any relaxing music, but oh well- we live with what we've got" I said with a shrug. Sapphire nodded. I got into a stance with my legs spread apart and my feet facing the same way I was. My partner copied me.

I took a deep breath and moved my arms up, first positioning them before my stomach, palms facing each other. Then I spread them out with another deep breath. I brought my arms around in a sweep, crossing each other, before positioning them with the left arm pointing down but the palm facing up, and the left palm pointing up behind me with the palm facing down. Then I spun my arms again and lifted my right leg, the one pointing forwards up, so it was just held suspended in the air and stood like a snake poised to strike.

With another breath, I stepped forwards again, thrusting both of my hands forwards, palms facing forwards. Then I turned around to face behind me and repeated the same actions. Peeking over at my partner, I saw Sapphire fluidly copying my movements. Despite everything, was the fact that my current body wasn't really made for that kind of thing, even though Tai-Chi was supposed to use fluid movements, the ones I was performing right now were more blocky than fluid. But, like I said, we work with what we've got. We worked through several sets of Tai-Chi movements, before I settled into my starting position, placed my hands on my stomach where our core was supposed to be, closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath.

Then I let it out and relaxed my body, shaking it out with a sigh, "oh man, I've got to do that more often, I feel so much lighter now!" I exclaimed, looking over to my partner, who was smiling at me, "yes, that certainly seemed to be relaxing, and it really did help with the flow of my energy" Sapphire replied, as she came to my side and sat down, "in fact, that might be a good exercise for us to do when we're Garnet as well" she suggested. I nodded, "yeah, it would help us calm ourselves, relax, become more balanced, as well as many other benefits" I replied with a grin. After a few moments of Tai-Chi, my nightmare from a few days ago, as well as the visions and guilt I had felt when we'd tried to practice with Garnets weapon passed through my mind. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. As we continued to do the movements I decided to talk about what I knew was going to happen. After all, what better time to talk about thoughts that alarmed me, than when I was relaxed and calm?

"Sapphire, I have to tell you something" I said. "I'm listening" the blue Gem replied. "I've told you about my past, and that I'm from another world, but what I haven't told you is that this world, this version of Earth that I'm from, was far more technologically advanced- not as much as Home world, but much more than now. And this Earth had something called Television, like Security feeds, but they showed entertainment as well," I took another breath, while we continued doing Tai-Chi. "One form of entertainment that I enjoyed, was a fictional show called Steven Universe- this show was about us Sapphire, our life, Roses life, Pearls life, but most importantly, the life of Roses half Gem, half human son, Steven Universe, the title having the same name as him," I gulped.

"This show begins many years in the future, and I've seen the whole thing- it's because of this show, that I know what's going to happen- for the future of the Rebellion and afterwards", I looked down and stood up straight, "I'm sorry for not telling you before, but I didn't know how to, and I also felt a large amount of irrational fear after living on Home World for so long- after all, if the Diamonds had found out about my future knowledge, they would have forced me to tell them everything, and all the Crystal Gems would have been destroyed, leaving the Earth- my real home to become a lifeless husk of rock" I explained, clenching my fists, and shutting my eyes tightly.

"You can hate me if you want for not telling you, and I promise I will tell you everything I know about the future that is going to happen, or, well, might happen, after all, I have already changed a lot of things with my very existence, but please, please promise me that you will keep protecting this planet, my home and the humans who live here" I begged. After I finished speaking I waited for something to happen. A slap, Sapphire to begin yelling at me for hiding all this from her, anything. But to my surprise, I simply felt my partners arms wrap around me. I opened my eyes and stared at Sapphire in surprise, "of course I'll keep protecting the Earth and the Humans, but I will do it by your side Ruby" she replied.

I blinked, and said the first thing that came to my mind, "how are you okay after everything I've told you since we met? Aren't you shocked and offended or something?" I asked incredulously. "Shocked, very slightly, offended, not at all. I knew that there were things about your former life that you hadn't told me, and I was fine waiting until you were ready to talk about them. As for the knowledge about the future that you have- did you really think that I would be anything but understanding about that? I have Future Vision Ruby, I see the future on a daily basis, if there was anyone who would understand about that kind of thing it would be me" the blue Gem explained.

I blinked in shock, then began to laugh. I couldn't believe that I had been so worried that it had even caused our Fusion to fall apart. Everything that I had been worried to tell Sapphire, everything that I had thought she would reject me for, she had accepted. I felt ridiculous for believing that this Gem could ever hate me or reject me. After I had calmed down, I told her what I knew. That there were Gems who went by the name of Crazylace, Bigs and Snowflake who were either already a part of the Crystal Gems or going to be. I told her that Bismuth, who had become our friend since Garnet met her, hated Homeworld with a passion, and had either already developed, or was in the process of developing a weapon capable of Shattering any Gem at all, called the Breaking point, and that Rose would be forced to Bubble her.

I told her that there was going to be a battle called the Battle for the Ziggurat, and that that's when Bismuth would present her weapon to Rose, forcing our leader to fight, poof and bubble the other Gem. I told some other things, before eventually getting to the part about the fate of our comrades within the Crystal Gems. By this point I was sobbing inconsolably, "so, most of them get Shattered or Corrupted by Home World, with most of the ones who were broken, being-" I choked, and Sapphire wrapped her arms around me tighter, "shh, if it's too much you can stop for now" she whispered, but I shook my head, "no, I have to tell you, we have to tell Rose and try to stop it!" I cried, shaking with fear, anger, determination and pain.

So I explained about the Fusion experiments, crying so hard that if it were anyone else, my words would have been incomprehensible. As it was, my partner was thankfully able to understand, so I didn't have to try and repeat the traumatizing memories. When I'd finally finished telling Sapphire everything important, it had been hours, and the sun was rising. "Thank you for telling me all this Ruby, tomorrow we begin our first attack on Home World since we joined the Crystal Gems, so let's get some rest for today, okay?" she asked, drying my eyes. I nodded, feeling my physical form much lighter than it had ever been before. I had finally gotten everything off my chest. Every guilt-ridden memory. Every thought that had been alarming me.

I had finally told Sapphire everything, and she still accepted me! Some part of my mind thought that this was another dream. It couldn't be this easy. But maybe, even with Future Vision, and being used to large amounts of information about the future, the blue Gem _was_ really overwhelmed, and wanted to take this time to try and sort through all the information that I had just dumped on her. I knew that it wasn't fair. All of that knowledge had been a constant burden on my heart since I had been reborn, and now I had just dumped it on Sapphire. Now she would be burdened by it as well. As we walked back to base, I wondered if she would be okay with all that knowledge as well as her own Visions to worry about.

I frowned and softly bumped her side. Sapphire looked over at me with a questioning air about her, "yes Bethany?" she asked curiously. "Are you okay? I mean really okay, I just told you a lot of information, I would understand if you were a bit overwhelmed" I asked. The ice wielding Gem smiled softly, "yes, I'm okay, we'll carry this burden together, and whatever happens in the future we will face it together" she replied with certainty in her voice. And I couldn't help but believe her.

To Be Continued


	10. Chapter 10

The next day Rose told us about a group of Quartz's who were guarding a Home World base. The Crystal Gems were going to fight them, to send a message to Home World that they were serious and that this planet was off limits. As the Quartz's were going to be very strong, the Rebels strongest fighters were going to go. Rose, Pearl and an Agate were going to be the first line, while Garnet and Bismuth would sneak into the small base they were defending and take out the rest. I couldn't deny that I was nervous about this.

Not only would it be our first battle as Garnet, but doing it with Bismuth? Yes, I knew that they fought side-by-side during this time, but alone? No, we would be okay. For now Bismuth was still our ally, I had to trust her. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting go of all my worries. I wouldn't let us fall apart because of me again. I had to relax. Everything would be okay. After everyone was ready, I walked up to Sapphire, "are you ready for this?" I asked. Sapphire stared at me from under her bangs, "are _you_?" she asked back.

I nodded, "yes, I should be fine, after all, it's not like we're doing this alone like the last time- we have our comrades with us, and as long as we trust in them, ourselves and each other, I'm sure I'll be alright, that _we'll_ be alright" I stared back at my partner with determination and held out my hand. The blue Gem smiled warmly at me and took it. We began twirling around in a waltz, with me once again picking Sapphire up and spinning her around. Laughing, our gems glowed and our forms turned to light, once again melding together perfectly. The pink and blue Fusion's form stabilized and Garnet grinned, cracking her knuckles, "let's beat some Home World Clods!" she proclaimed confidently.

 ** _R_**

Garnet, Rose, Bismuth, Pearl and Agate crept through the foliage in silence. Garnet was understandably nervous. Quartz Gems were _made_ for fighting, and while Sapphire was focused, I was worried. The determination that I'd had before coming out here was beginning to give way for fear at the thought of our first real battle. The Fusion clenched her fists when they began to shake. After the disaster of our first mission, I had no idea what was going to happen. I shook my head to clear it, and looked over at Sapphire from within our shared Mindscape.

The blue Gem smiled, "we'll be alright Ruby, whatever happens, as long as we have each other, it'll be okay" she said. I grasped her hand, and our Gems clinked together, feeling right and safe while we were so close. I took a deep breath, and stared into her eye, "you're right, we'll be okay" I replied. Garnet turned her attention outwards as we neared the base, "here we go" she whispered. Suddenly, Rose Quartz, Pearl and Agate rushed out into the open. The Home World Gems let out a shriek of surprise, especially at being attacked by a Pearl of all Gems, but soon came back to their senses and attacked. The Quartz's clashed with their sister Gem, who fought back ferociously. As their comrades were distracting the other Gems, Bismuth and Garnet rushed into the base.

We suddenly came upon a small platoon of about eight Quartz's in a single room. Bismuth's Gem glowed, and her hands morphed into two hammers, which she bashed together, "come get us you Upper Crusts!" she exclaimed, grinning with excitement. Garnet summoned her Gauntlets, then, channeling Sapphires super speed, rushed forwards, and started punching every Gem in the building. Bismuth smashed through them with her hammers. However, they weren't the warrior class of our race for nothing. The ensuring battle was the most intense thing Garnet had experienced.

However, she used everything at her disposal. Karate, Future Vision and Gauntlets. She managed to take out a few of the other Gems, but the Quartz Gems didn't want to make it easy for her. Suddenly a bolt of agonizing energy shot through her body. It was so quick, no one had time to scream, but the Fusion fell apart regardless. Before they could get their bearings, the two small Gems were knocked away from each other and into the battle. Sapphire looked up at all the (to her) giant Gems. She couldn't see Ruby anywhere. The blue Gem began to use her Future Vision to try and find the easiest way to get to her partner.

Meanwhile I shook my head and looked around. There were huge Quartz's everywhere, so many that I could barely see through their bodies. I summoned my boxing glove and began to punch my way through my enemies. As I knocked another big Amethyst out of the way, I saw something that caused the flames within me to all but freeze. A Quartz with a huge hammer was advancing towards Sapphire. My eyes widened in horror. In desperation, I began to climb the nearest Gem, jumping from each of their heads to keep moving. Some of them noticed me and tried to knock me off, but I was moving too fast for them to catch me.

I jumped off the Quartz's head just as the one near my partner attacked. I reached my hand out to try and knock her out of the way. The hammer slammed into my Gemstone with a large amount of force. A huge amount of pain ripped through my body, as I was flung into Sapphire and both of us were thrown backwards, hitting the wall behind us.

 _(No one's POV)_

The blue Gem pushed herself up and looked down at her partner, who was now lying in her lap, "Ruby! Are you okay?" she asked, almost frantically. Ruby opened her eyes weakly and smiled, "I-I'm so glad y-you're okay S-S-S-Sapp-pp-pp-ire *gasp*!" she replied, catching on the word, before gasping and flinching as pain shot through her form. Her body glitched and suddenly her arm and leg seemed to lose their ability to stay at their usual length. The blue Gem looked down at her partner's Gem embedded hand and saw, to her horror, a spider-web of cracks. Sapphire gasped and grasped the hand gently, "oh god, Ruby!" she cried, tears forming in her eye. Pain was wracking Ruby's body, but she forced her mind to clear, "S-S-Sapph, y-you h-h-have to f-find R-Rose- sh-she can, h-heal m-m-m-me!" she gasped out through the vocal glitches. The ice-wielding Gem nodded, steeling herself. She carefully picked up the red Gem's altered body and gently cradled it, taking extra care with Ruby's damaged Gemstone.

Her partner was limp in her arms, her face and eyes were scrunched up tightly in agony. Sapphire grit her teeth. "Don't worry, you'll be okay, I'll get you help, I swear" she whispered to Ruby. Then she shot off, faster than she'd ever moved before, knocking enemy Gems out of the way without a care. Sapphire Looked ahead to See where she'd find Rose Quartz. When she'd found the warrior Gem, she headed straight towards her, before finally stopping in front of their leader. Rose had her shield out, as well as her sword. "Rose!" Sapphire all but screamed. Said Gem looked up, after Poofing another Quartz soldier. Her eyes widened in alarm at seeing the state Ruby was in.

The blue Gem ran up, and Rose's Bubble instantly formed around the three, "what happened?!" the pink Gem exclaimed, taking Ruby's hand and examining her Gem. However, Sapphire was too upset to answer, and tears kept trailing down the middle of her face. Rose knelt down and a tear fell from her eye. When it dripped onto the cracked Gemstone, it glowed, and the crack healed almost instantly.

 _(Ruby's POV)_

I let out a gasp as though I had just come back from the dead and my eyes shot wide open as my form glowed brightly. My arms and legs retracted back into their original length and I blinked my eyes up at Sapphire's face.

"Sapph-" I whispered, seeing the tears on her face and reaching up to wipe them away, "I'm okay now" I replied, smiling reassuringly. My partner grasped my hand with my Gem and pressed it to her cheek, feeling the perfectly smooth surface against her physical form. Sapphire caressed my hand softly, before helping me sit up. I grasped her other hand with my free one. Then my eyes turned deadly, "why don't we let Garnet show these bastards just what happens when you mess with one of us?" I asked with a dangerous grin. The blue Gem returned the look, helping me to my feet. After testing the strength in my legs, I lifted Sapphire up and spun her around. Our Gems glowed and we were fused once again.

Garnet looked out at the enemy Gems, "let's dance" she said, as she nodded at Rose. The pink Gem nodded back and slid her sword out of it's sheath. Then she dropped her Bubble and both of us ran off back into the fray.

 ** _R_**

After the battle was over, Rose came over to us. We had already un-fused and Sapphire was sitting stoically next to me. After checking us over, she said that she had to go check on Agate and Bismuth, and turned to walk away, but not before telling us that she was glad we were both alright now. We weren't alright though. Physically we were fine. But emotionally and mentally- not a chance in hell. I knew that Sapphire was going to break down eventually, most likely when we were back at base and alone.

For now I simply held the silent blue Gem in my arms, stroking her hair and whispering that I was alright over and over, as many times as she wanted. But I was also extremely shaken up. I mean I'd almost- just the thought of it made me choke on air. It terrified me. Pearl came up to us, frowning slightly, "um, are you two okay?" she asked us. I inhaled shakily, "yeah, I'm okay, just a bit shaken, but Sapphire-" I tightened my hold on her body, "it'll take a while" I replied softly. Pearl nodded in understanding, "well, I've been through similar situations myself, if you two ever want to talk- I'll listen" she said, before turning and walking away.

I blinked. Huh. It seemed that she was finally opening up to us. I looked down at my lover. She was as solid as her Gemstone and cold as ice. I frowned; I knew that she was naturally cold, but not that much. I began rubbing her arms to warm her up, but she didn't move. I wondered if she was using her Future Vision, as she was so still. I decided to wait for a little while to see if she would snap out of it. A few minutes passed and my partner was still in the same state as before. I then decided to take matters into my own hands. Lifting up Sapphire's hand with her Gem in it, I threaded my blocky fingers through her small ones and pressed our Gemstones together.

As always it sent a pleasant tingle through my body, though it seemed to be slightly different this time. As I'd hoped that same jolt went through my partner. She slowly moved her head to face me. I smiled warmly at her, "hey," I said gently, "it's okay, no more danger, you don't have to worry anymore tonight, okay?" I asked softly, wrapping my other arm around her waist and pulling Sapphire closer to me. The blue Gem shivered, before clinging to me without a word. I began rubbing her back, "shh, it's okay, no more danger" I whispered. She tightened her grip on my Gem-embedded hand.

Then she began to speak, "R-Ruby, can we stay Fused for a while, a-at least until I calm down? I want you closer to me" she whispered back. Instead of speaking, I began to kiss my partner. Sapphire melted into the kiss, while tightening her grip around me. I felt warmth grow within me, different from my flames. It was the warmth of my love for this Gem, and I was happy to show just how much I loved her. My partner started to kiss me back, and I could almost feel her desire to be closer to me right then. As we grew more passionate, our Gems began to glow once more, engulfing us in purple light. When it died down, Garnet was once again in our place.

She clenched her fists around our Gems. We _would_ protect each other this time, no matter what.

To Be Continued


	11. Chapter 11

A few months later, Sapphire and I were once again lying together under the stars, relaxing after another battle. I was pointing out all the constellations I remembered, explaining their names, meaning, and helping Sapphire to find them. My near Shattering from a few months ago was still bothering us, so we chose not to sleep that night, instead taking time to simply be ourselves, feeling each other's presence and the cool, soft grass under our backs. Sapphire then spoke up, "Ruby? Did you know, Bismuth has offered to build us a permanent place to stay here on Earth, and she and Rose are looking for places to create it" she began.

She turned towards me, "she's going to build the Temple, right?" the blue Gem asked me. I smiled, "probably, but can't you tell?" I asked mischievously. Sapphire shoved me playfully, "you know I can't see everything Smartypants" she teased. I laughed, while my partner smiled. I looked back up at the sky and frowned. "Hey, speaking of the future- I've been thinking about this for a while now, and- I think we should tell Rose about what's going to happen" I replied. My partner rolled over to look at me, moving her fringe away from her eye as she did. I noticed that she only did that when she was serious, or was talking about serious things.

"Are you sure?" she asked, face blank of emotion. I nodded, "it's her future as well, and I think she has a right to know. Not to mention we'll need help if we ever want to change anything" I replied. Sapphire stared at me silently for a moment, before she nodded, "alright, but we should work out exactly _what, and how_ we're going to tell her," she began, "for example, do you want to tell her everything? Like about your reincarnation and where you come from as well?" she asked. I frowned. Despite her being our ally, and the fact that she'd saved me, literally as of a few months ago, I still had a deep fear of telling anyone the truth about myself- anyone except my partner of course.

I shivered, "m-maybe, you could tell her and make her think you'd seen it with your Future Vision?" I asked worriedly. It really bugged me that I was _still_ so paranoid about this, but 100 years in a hostile environment, where one mention of anything that I knew, or my true nature, would lead to torture to get the information out of me, then being Shattered as a traitor and a major Defect had left me utterly terrified and guarded about my true nature and knowledge. Hell, I had even waited 80 years to tell my partner the truth. So the thought of telling anyone else about it so soon- what if Rose ended up hating me for not telling her such vital information about our future? What if she didn't believe me and thought I was crazy? What if she kicked me out of the Crystal Gems?!

I clenched my eyes shut. Even un-fused, those thoughts weren't good for me. They would only lead me to panic and worry. I needed to relax. It's not like those things were defiantly going to happen, but the thought that they _might_ no matter what I said or did scared me. Not as much as the thought of Sapphire rejecting me, but enough. I felt a cool hand on my cheek, and looked over at the blue Gem. Sapphire smiled at me, "it will be okay, I just checked my Future Vision, and in every one I see where we tell Rose, more good comes of it than bad" she replied softly. I sighed, "that's a relief," I then grinned, "so, shall we go? I'd rather get this over with if nothing bad happens" I asked, though minute shivers were still wracking my form. My partner nodded, taking my hand as she stood and helping me to my feet, "it will be okay, please relax" she soothed. I took a deep breath and exhaled, tightening my grip on Sapphire's hand as my tremors finally ceased, "okay, we can do this- together" I replied, smiling at the blue Gem.

Sapphire smiled and nodded, before we both left the clearing and returned to the base to speak with Rose Quartz.

 ** _R_**

As we walked, I felt my nerves begin to flare up again. I squeezed Sapphires hand tighter, who stroked the back of it with her longer fingers, "calm down," she said softly, "nothing bad is going to happen" the ice-using Gem whispered, switching hands, so that the one that was previously holding my hand was wrapped around my upper arm, and the other hand was holding mine. I sighed, yes, right, nothing bad would happen, I just had to relax. We stopped outside Rose's room and knocked on the wall.

"Come in!" the pink Gem called. Sapphire and I walked inside the room. The pink Quartz was sitting down on a large stone, seeming to be deep in thought. I bit my lip. Maybe it would be better to come back later, she did seem to be troubled by something. I glanced over to my partner, who shook her head and squeezed my hand in comfort. I took a deep breath, even after all this time, it still felt wrong to address this powerful Gem so informally, "um- Rose?" I began softly, as she didn't move. Sapphire spoke up, and I was surprised at the volume that came from the usually quiet Gem, "Rose?" the former Aristocrat called.

The Quartz perked up, "hm? Oh, I'm sorry you two, I was just thinking about some things, did you need something?" she asked. The blue Gem nodded, "we need to speak with you privately, if you have the time" Sapphire explained. Rose nodded, and gestured to the space in front of her, "of course, please, sit" she replied with a gentle smile. Sapphire pulled me to sit next to her as she sank to the ground. I clutched my partner nervously, if I had a heart, it would have been hammering against my chest. Rose smiled gently, "now, what do you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

Sapphire began, "I have had several visions about the future recently, and I feel like I must tell you about them for the safety of the Crystal Gems and the Earth" she explained. The pink Gem nodded, "I see, well then, go ahead." She replied. Sapphire turned to look at me. I had begun shaking. Rose noticed this and frowned at me in concern, "are you alright Ruby" she asked softly. I tried to speak, but my voice failed me. My partner spoke up instead, "I had the visions when we were Garnet, so Ruby saw them as well- they left her rather shaken up, and whenever she thinks of them she goes into the same state" she lied effortlessly. Soft, cool hands caressed my face gently and I stared at Sapphire. The blue Gem smiled, "thank you for supporting me this far, but you can go now- take some time for yourself and relax, okay" she suggested. I took several breathes to steady my emotions, before I nodded, taking the suggestion gratefully, "okay, but if you need me-" I began, but was cut off by the soft voice of my partner, "I'll know where to find you" Sapphire replied.

I then turned and began to walk away, trying to calm the rising panic in my Gem. Everything would be okay. Sapphire would explain everything in the most believable way possible and Rose would be able to prevent those things from happening. We would be okay. We had to be.

 ** _R_**

Eventually Sapphire left the War room and came up to me. I looked up at her hopefully, "well? Di-did she believe you?" I asked nervously. My partner nodded and knelt down next to me, "she did, but we still have to wait for the events to happen before we can try and stop them- she was especially upset about Bismuth. We both decided that there wasn't much any of us could actively do about everyone who was Shattered, after all, we can't be everywhere at once" she said, and I could detect the slight tinge of sadness in her voice.

I wrapped an arm around her comfortingly, "but that doesn't mean we can't try, right? We can do everything possible to protect our comrades, and if we can't keep them safe, the least we could do is gather up their Gem shards so that they can't be used in those horrible experiments" we both shuddered. The thought of not only the Fusion experiments, but that they would be conducted on the remains of our friends horrified and disgusted us. And it was worse for me, because I knew exactly what they would be like, and it made me sick. If I had shape-shifted a stomach and had eaten anything, I knew that it would make me feel physically ill.

The thought of those twisted, malformed forced fusions, their reaching hands and tortured screaming- it was enough to make me shudder violently and force the memories back down before they overwhelmed me. There was nothing we could do right now, but we _would_ stop it. No matter what. "Ruby?" Sapphire asked, placing her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her face, still shivering. The blue Gem frowned, "you're crying" she said quietly. I quickly reached up and wiped my face of the tears that clung there, "I'm fine" I replied, desperate to not appear weak- I had to protect my partner, and if I was weak, then I wouldn't be able to do that.

I tried to push the thoughts away, but they just became stronger, the horrible images clearer. A sob caught in my throat, and the tears continued to stream down my cheeks. I closed my eyes tight, trying to block out the memories. But they continued to flow through my mind- and they _hurt_. It felt as though I was being repeatedly hit in the head with a hammer. I gripped my head in my hands as the pain grew. "What's wrong Ruby?" Sapphire asked in concern.

I tried to push through the pain and reply, but it wasn't easy. "S-S-Sapph-ire, my head is- it- hurts!" I moaned, before another wave of agony pierced through my holographic skull, making me scream and clench both hands on it. "Ruby!" the blue Gem cried, grabbing me around the shoulders and pulling me close to her as I sobbed desperately, "make it stop, p-please, someone, help me!" I begged, desperate for relief from the pain. It was almost as bad as my cracked Gem had been, except this was only in my head, and not my whole body. Sapphire quickly picked me up and ran for the only Gem with Healing powers in the Rebellion. By this point I had just about passed out, and the last thing I heard before I did, was my partner screaming: "Rose!"

 ** _R_**

As my eyes slowly opened, I felt my body submerged in warm water. Judging from how blurry everything was, I guessed that my head was too. I carefully pushed myself out of the water and looked around. The first thing I saw was Sapphire leaping at me. "Sapp-" I was cut off as the blue Gem leapt on me and we splashed back into the water. Sitting up again, I looked around in confusion. We were at Rose's fountain. Sapphire was there, but so was Rose herself. The pink Gem was smiling gently, but there was a hardness to her eyes that made me flinch back at the look.

"Ruby, would you be able to tell me why it was that your memory core was overloaded to the point that it almost caused your Gem to give out?" I clenched my fist, as my partner helped me out of the Fountain. "Ruby-" Sapphire began worriedly, but I held up my hand to stop her, "it's okay Sapphire, it's time" I replied, feeling my nerves again begin to flare up. I turned back to face the Quartz Gem, "I have something to tell you, the truth about where Sapphire got that information about the future". Rose simply stared at me, "okay, I'm listening" she said. The blue Gem grasped my Gem-embedded hand with hers. Our Gems clinked together, and I felt a rush of calmness flow over me. And so, I began.

 ** _R_**

It took a whole two days to explain everything important. Rose's eyes softened considerably throughout the story, especially when I told her about Steven. At those points she would have her signature star eyes. When I'd finished my story, the Quartz didn't look angry, simply thoughtful. "Reincarnation hm?" she said. I nodded "yes, I was a human woman, in the world I was from, there was no such thing as Gems- in fact no one knew if there were any aliens at all out in the universe," I paused for a moment, before daring to look up at my leader again, "I-I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner Rose, but I was terrified after living for a hundred years on Home World, where saying anything would mean I'd get Shattered, and I just couldn't- bring myself to tell you- I'm sorry- I'm sorry" I began sobbing, appologising over and over again.

Suddenly I felt the touch of a large hand on my shoulder. I knew it couldn't be Sapphire due to the size and warmth of the hand, and I slowly looked up to see Rose smiling gently at me. I was so shocked that I simply stared at her. Rose cocked her head to the side while still smiling, "it's okay Bethany, I don't blame you for being scared and guarded about your knowledge and identity, and I thank you for telling me now- it will help a lot, you were very brave" she said. I smiled back and wiped my eyes, "th-thank you" I muttered softly, as my partner came up again and wrapped her arms around me. She dried the last of my tears and leaned her head on my shoulder. I sighed in contentment, glad that everything had turned out so well.

"What would you like me to call you now?" Rose asked me. I looked up at her, "Ruby is fine- it's who I am now" I replied, relieved beyond words. The Quartz Gem nodded, "Ruby then," suddenly she blushed, which I had never seen Rose do, not in the cartoon, or in this life. Rose looked me in the eyes, and she seemed almost- _shy_. "Ruby, would you mind- t-telling me more about S-Steven?" she asked softly. My eyes widened, before I grinned, "of course not!" I replied exuberantly. "He'll be such an amazing little boy, so kind and loving, just like you- he'll be very accepting and helpful, he'll even want to help his enemies instead of fighting with them, he'll love music and singing, and want to protect everyone he cares about, including his home planet, the Earth- he will be silly and childish at first, even as he gets older, but he will become more serious and strong with time, and- he'll be wonderful" I said, all in one long run on sentence.

No longer needing to, sometimes I forgot to breathe, though it did help calm me down a lot. Rose's eyes couldn't be wider and starrier if they tried. "A child! A half human child! A little boy- I'm really going to have a son!" she cried excitedly. Suddenly she paused and turned to look at me again, "wait- how exactly do I have Steven?" Rose asked. "Human pregnancy, you, well, shape shift all the relevant parts- I'll explain more later" I told her. The Gem was silent for a moment, before asking in a soft voice, "and what happens- to me?" My head shot up to stare at my leader, her eyes having become melancholy, like she _knew_. I frowned slightly, "what do you mean Rose?" I asked. Rose frowned, "though you were smiling at telling me about Steven, your eyes still looked sad- so something must happen to me, or to the baby's- oh, what was the word, the other parent?" she asked, looking like she was trying to remember something.

"Father?" I supplied. The Gem nodded, "yes, the father" she replied. I shook my head, "no, nothing bad happens to Steven's father, but, well, for Steven to exist, you had to give him your Gemstone- I don't know if there was another way, for him to exist without the Gem, but that was the way you chose, and to do that, you had to- disappear, to become part of Steven. We'll miss you when that happens, all of us, or the ones who survive anyway, but eventually all of us will fall too much in love with Steven to ever want to let him go- that precious little boy" I explained with a sad smile.

"And as he grows he'll gain great control of your powers, protect everyone, and find a love of his own- he'll save this world and he'll do it because he loves it, because it's his home, and because he is Steven Universe" I finished. It was silent for a moment, before our leader spoke up again, "then I make the right choice" she said. I nodded, "you do, it may be sad and take a little bit of time, but you do make the right choice Rose". No one spoke for several minutes, just letting everything sink in, before the Quartz Gem stood, "I thank you for telling me all of this Bethany, and I promise I'll do my best to stop some of the bad things from happening" she said.

I looked up at her, "I know you will, and if you can't, well, nobody's perfect" I said, and felt Sapphire take my hand again. Rose nodded, "alright, well, you're recovered now, so please return to base, Sapphire knows the way, I have some things I need to do, and some thinking as well" she told us as my partner helped me stand and climb out of the fountain. We both nodded, before we all went our separate ways. As we walked I turned to my partner, "well, that's a load off my chest" I said with a smile. The blue Gem smiled back, "I told you that things would be okay" she replied. I wrapped my arm around her, "yeah, you did".

To Be Continued


	12. Chapter 12

It had been ten years since I'd told Rose about the future. Right now, the Crystal Gems were in the midst of a full-out battle against Home Worlds forces. Garnet was fighting a group of enemies by herself. Rose was somewhere in the midst of Gem bodies, but she would be fine I knew. But today Temple was fighting with us, so we were keeping an eye out for her as well. As we Poofed another enemy Gem, we looked around for the other Ruby. _"Can you See her?"_ I asked, only slightly worried. Despite not really liking to fight, Temple was no pushover. She was wicked fast for a Ruby and her attacks could take out a Gem in one hit.

Despite how much I hated it and most of the Gems who lived there, Home World did have its uses. Suddenly through the bodies, I saw her. She was spinning and leaping with her bladed staff ablaze with crimson flames. _"Well, she seems to be doing okay"_ I stated happily. Suddenly, and without any warning what-so-ever, a huge arrow pierced through her head. With horror I realized that it had gone straight through her Gem. Before Garnet could even break out of her shock, Temple Poofed and the pieces of the Gem fell to the ground. None of us could so much as think, let alone move. Suddenly my shock was overcome with intense burning rage. Garnet screamed, and began to smash every Home World Gem within reach.

I didn't care about the enemy Gemstones, the sound of them shattering against Garnets Gauntlets only fueling the sudden madness that had overcome me. Sapphire didn't even try to stop me or calm me down. She was just as torn up as I was, though not as violent. Eventually all the Home World Gems had either been poofed and bubbled, Shattered or retreated. As both myself and Garnet began to calm down, Sapphire gently guided her to begin searching through the remains for my friend's Gem. Our Fusion began scouring the ground with lightning focus, searching for the familiar shards. We sifted through the pieces for hours, Rose wisely staying back for the duration of our search. She might not have seen it, but I was sure she could sense the lack of the third Ruby Resonance.

After hours of searching Sapphire gently spoke up: "Ruby, she's not here" she said softly. I shook my head, "no, she is! She has to be!" I insisted, continuing to search. "Ruby, I'm sorry- she's gone" my partner said sympathetically. I froze, wide –eyed, as the realization that I'd desperately been trying to deny sank in, "they took her" I whispered, "they took her to use in those damn experiments!" I screamed, as Garnet abruptly fell apart. I collapsed to the ground, sobbing and screaming, staring at all the Gem shards around me as though seeing them for the first time. "Why!? Why couldn't I save her!?" I screamed.

"It's all my fault" I muttered, shaking. Sapphire wrapped her arms around me, "it's not your fault-" she tried to reassure, but I whirled around on her, tears beginning to evaporate away from my skin, "it is my fault!" I screamed, "because I was the one who brought her here, I'm the reason she joined the Rebellion! I'm the reason she was Shattered, and I'm the reason that she's going to be-!" I choked, unable to continue. I collapsed onto my side, curling up in a ball and continuing to sob, surrounded by shards of friends and foes alike.

My partner knelt down next to me, "and if you hadn't of brought Temple and Korra with you when we escaped Blue Diamond, what do you think would have happened then? They would have been on the other side, fighting against us, you may have had to fight them yourself, or they could have been Shattered accidentally by one of our own- trust me Ruby, it would have hurt you more had Temple been on Homeworld's side and we had to fight her, because then you would have not only felt guilty if she had been Shattered in the fighting, but also for not being able to get her away from our old planet- at least this way she had the chance to fight for what was right" Sapphire said.

I sniffed, "maybe that's true, but now, because she was a Crystal Gem, she- she's going to be used in, th-those damn experiments!" I sobbed, "and I couldn't save her from that!" I covered my face with my hands and cried. It hurt. It hurt so much. Temple had been the first friend I'd made on Homeworld aside from La La, and now she was gone. The guilt slammed into me like the waves of the ocean. It was consuming me like a drowning swimmer, and I couldn't, couldn't- it felt like my very gem was howling in agony, like all around me was a black void of hopelessness.

If I couldn't even save my oldest friend, how could I possibly hope to save the Earth? Even if I wasn't doing it alone, how could I know that I wouldn't fail again, just like I had failed Temple? How could I keep fighting when I knew that any day, someone that I cared about could die? Even Sapphire. The thought caused my inner flames to freeze. I always knew that I could end up dead in this life. But I had contented myself with thinking that because I knew what was going to happen in the future, I could save everyone else, no matter what happened to me. But Temple had been Shattered. What's more, she had been taken. It could happen to any of us. I couldn't save everyone. I thought that I understood that. But suddenly having that thought caused a whole new realization to unfold in my mind.

I didn't want that. I couldn't stand that. If anything happened to the others, I wouldn't be able to take it. The reality that my knowledge and the fact that I wanted to save them wouldn't be enough slammed into me. For the first time, I really understood the mortality of the situation. You would think that almost getting Shattered would do that, but no. Things were getting serious now, and I didn't know if I'd be able to save everyone. Suddenly I felt a familiar weight settle around me. Opening my eyes, I saw the blue of my partner all around me. I blinked. Sapphire had curled herself around my body and was hugging me close to herself. "I'm sorry about Temple Ruby, but we have other friends who need us. Yes, we might fail, but if we don't even try, then we won't save anyone, and especially not the Earth. I know it's hard and painful to lose those we love, but we are still here. We still have a chance to save them, to protect our planet- we can't give up now".

I listened to Sapphire's words quietly, absorbing the care and truth with surprising ease. "I know it hurts, but it will hurt more to not ever try, so, will you give up, or keep fighting to protect what is precious to you?" she asked. I thought about everything that had happened and everything that was still to come. All the pain and heartbreak that was waiting in the future. But- that wasn't _all_ that awaited us. Steven. That precious little boy was still waiting in our future. I knew it would be hard, but I couldn't just abandon him. I stood up slowly, my partner moving to let me. I wiped my eyes. Then I turned to look at Sapphire. "You're right, I can't give up now- I still have to be there for Steven- it might hurt, but, I know we can all get through this," I reached up and took her hand, squeezing it gently, "together".

 ** _R_**

When we got back to the Crystal Gem's hideout, I didn't know how I was going to tell Korra. I knew that this would hit her hard, and painfully. I didn't even have the pieces of our friend's Gem. We would morn Temple, but we would eventually move on. Or at least, I hoped she would. It would be hard for her, and harder for me. We would have to be there for each other. It wouldn't be easy, not by any means, but we would still fight for the Earth, because I loved my home and because Temple would have wanted me to.

Sapphire hugged me close to herself, "I'll be right here" she said softly. I nodded, smiling thinly, "I know". "Hey, Ruby!" a familiar voice called, making me freeze in my tracks. I turned to see Korra running up to me with a wide grin, the sight of which caused me to choke up, "you're back!" she exclaimed, stopping in front of me, "I bet Garnet kicked all their buts!," Korra punched the air for emphasis, "man she's so cool! Hey, can we hang out later, I haven't got much time with Garnet lately-" She paused as she saw my face. I was on the verge of tears. The other Ruby slowly approached me, "hey, what's wrong?" she asked tentatively. I looked down, unable to continue looking at my other friend's face, "It's Temple- s-she was, sh-shattered" I forced out, squeezing my eyes shut against the threat of tears. "W-what?" Korra asked, sounding shocked. I sniffed, "there was nothing we could do, it just, happened! It was so sudden, a spear pierced right through her Gem," I choked.

The red Gem was silent. The tears trailed down my face, "I'm sorry, I couldn't save her, I-" Sapphire gripped my hand as I began trembling, "I couldn't, I couldn't do anything!" I broke down, sobbing. The other Ruby let out a strangled sound, "Temple," she moaned out, "d-did you- get her Gem's pieces?" she asked softly. My partner took over as she wrapped her arms around me, "Garnet looked and looked, but there was no sign of her, I'm so sorry Korra" Sapphire replied. We'd already decided not to mention that the Home World Gems had taken her. "She's gone, T-Temple is-" Korra fell to her knees, eyes wide. I frowned, "Korra?" I asked carefully. The other Gem didn't move. Sapphire frowned as well, "I think she's in shock" she said softly.

I let out a trembling breath. No kidding. "Yeah, well, if I hadn't been there, and had been told about this, I'd be in shock too" I replied. "W-w-w-w-why!? Why did this have to happen, why!?" Korra demanded angrily, fists clenching tightly. I stared at my friend sadly, "I'm sorry-" I began, but was cut off, "is that all you can say?!" Korra demanded, "the only thing you can say about our friend's death is _'you're sorry'_ " she mocked, tears streaming from her eyes and steaming away instantly due to her heartbroken rage. She tried to say something, but ended up being unable to voice it and just grunted angrily, before throwing her hands up and running away.

I simply stood their silently, Sapphire by my side, neither of us saying a word. I clenched my fists and eyes shut, as tears began to leak from them. My sorrow soon turned to anger. Anger at myself. The tears steamed away from my body, and I gripped my head in my hands. This was all my fault. I was the one who let this happen. The amount of fury I felt inside began to leak to the outside, as flames slowly began to consume the ground around me. I didn't care. If I were burnt to a crisp right now I wouldn't care. Everything was falling apart around me, and I felt I was being torn apart from the inside out. I gripped my head, shaking in- I didn't even know what I was feeling anymore, all my emotions were just spiraling out of control.

My skin prickled, as though hundreds of Gems were watching me fall apart, and they were happy I was. Every part of me suddenly felt too tight, too suffocating. I was being crushed by my own form, and everything that had happened just pushed, pushed, _pushed_. My mouth wouldn't move, but I could clearly hear the screaming inside my head. What was happening? I knew that Fusions were effected by hallucinations when emotionally unstable and then fell apart, but I wasn't fused right now. Even so, darkness began to claim my sight and I felt like I was drowning. I couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't move. The darkness was bright and it was blinding, it was too much, too much- suddenly I felt a weight on my shoulder, and the darkness began to recede. But my rage was still going out of control and I just wanted to get _out._

I could finally move my body again, and on instinct, I lashed out, spinning around, fist clenched and smashed it into whatever was restricting me. There was the feeling of something giving way under my fist and a scream tore through the air. My vision finally cleared, and I could make out the form of my partner standing rigid, with her hands to her mouth in shock. I blinked, looking down at my hand. My boxing glove was encasing my Gem-embedded hand. When had I summoned my weapon?

Looking down to the ground, I felt my body become rigid. There, on the ground was an oval-shaped white Gemstone. It had cracks rippling the surface of it. My eyes widened in horror as I recognized the now feint but familiar hum of Pearl's Gem. I put my hands to my mouth and screamed. What had I done?! Pearl, Pearl was- "it was an accident!" the words left my mouth almost without conscious thought. I- had I done this? Had I really just cracked my own friends Gemstone? My body trembled, and I would have fallen into shock, had Sapphire not snapped me out of it, "Ruby!" she cried. My head snapped up. The blue Gem was carefully picking up Pearls Gem, "we have to get her to Rose Quickly" she insisted.

I was in shock. All I could do was nod dumbly, as the two of us sped away to find our leader. The whole time, my thoughts were in turmoil. Why? First I let Temple get Shattered, and now I almost break Pearl myself. Why? Why did all this have to happen? Why damn it!?

To Be Continued


	13. Chapter 13

Thankfully Rose was able to heal Pearl with a few Healing Tears. I sobbed as I shamefully told her what I had done. She didn't seem angry with me, more like sympathetic. However, even after the healing, I couldn't bring myself to look at Pearls Gemstone, or even the Gem herself once she had regenerated. I felt so guilty at what I had done in my rage, that I isolated myself from everyone. Sapphire was the only one who could find me, and even then, I refused to speak a word. Twenty years passed by in this manner, with me secluding myself from everyone, even my own partner and La La. Eventually it seemed as though Rose had had enough, and she came to find me huddled away under the roots of a tree.

At hearing the sound of the large Gem's dress brushing the ground, and feeling Rose's familiar presence, I curled up tighter and shuddered, sure that she was going to be angry at me for having disappeared for so long. But Rose simply sat down on the dirt before my little cove. She said nothing for a few moments, before she sighed, "you have to stop blaming yourself at some point Ruby" she began. I stayed silent. "It wasn't your fault you know, you were under a lot of pressure and-" I cut her off with a humourless laugh, "not my fault?" I asked incredulously, "oh yeah, because it's not like I did anything like almost Shatter a friend, not at all!" I scoffed. "Bethany," Rose tried again, this time with my old name.

I looked up at her, "please stop blaming yourself, Pearl is fine" the pink Gem said softly. I looked away, "but, she could have been Shattered, and I would have been the reason" I sniffed, clenching my fists. The pink Gem sighed, and when she spoke again, it was with authority: "alright, that's enough wallowing- I tried to be sensitive and give you time, but this is ridiculous- you are a Crystal Gem Ruby, and you need to act like it! you say this planet is your only true home and you love it? then prove it" Rose demanded.

I stared up at my leader, "I'm sending Garnet on a mission- with Pearl" she explained. My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to say something, but the Quartz held up a hand, "let me finish please," she said. My mouth snapped closed instantly. "Thank you, you need to do this because Pearl is your teammate, and you need to be able to work with her" Rose replied. I looked at the ground, "but- but what if I hurt her again?" I asked uneasily. The Quartz smiled, "you won't" she replied softly. I huffed slightly, "okay, I-I'll try" I said.

 ** _R_**

Leaving my cove for the first time in years, I found my partner to already be waiting for me. I looked down and rubbed my arm with my non-Gem-embedded hand, "hey" I said awkwardly. Sapphire nodded, "hello" she replied. I sighed, "look, Sapphire- I'm really sorry for disappearing for the last twenty years- I swear I didn't mean to cut you off, I just- *sigh* needed some time to myself" I looked up at her shyly. The blue Gem walked up to me. I braced myself for anything. What I wasn't expecting, was for her to wrap her arms around me and lay her head on my chest "I understand that you might need some space sometimes, and I accept that- but next time could you at least tell me what you're doing before you disappear? If I didn't have Future Vision and didn't know you so well, I might have gotten worried and not have known where you went" she explained.

I sighed, wrapping my own arms around her form, "I promise you I will, and I hope that there won't be a next time for a while," after we'd both spent a little time simply standing there and holding each other, the blue Gem pulled away. I looked at Sapphire and held out my hand, "shall we?" I asked with a small smile. She smiled back and took my hand. I twirled her then dipped her. Both of us laughed as we were engulfed in the purple light. When the blue and pink splattered Fusion appeared she stretched before sighing, "okay then, let's get this over with" Garnet said, before turning and walking away. Rose, who had followed Ruby out of the cove, sighed. She hoped that by sending the three of them out together, they would be able to mend their relationship. "I really hope this works" she said to herself.

 ** _R_**

Garnet walked through the dessert with Pearl. Both were silent, with neither having the desire to talk. From within the Fusions mind, Sapphire sighed, _"you know, you_ _ **are**_ _going to have to speak to her eventually, right Ruby?"_ she asked. _"I know, but- *sigh* I don't even know what to say- I mean, how do you start a conversation with someone you almost killed?"_ I asked, burying my face in my hands. _"You didn't almost kill her Ruby, it was an accident, Pearl understands that, but she doesn't know how to talk to you about it- please Bethany, you can't just avoid her forever"_ Sapphire begged. I groaned, _"but I don't know how to talk to her about it!"_ I exclaimed. Sapphire fell silent. _"Would_ _ **you**_ _find it easy to talk to me if you had cracked me?"_ I demanded, turning to look at the blue Gem. _"If you had almost Shattered anybody, would you really be able to just walk up to them and just_ _ **casually**_ _start a conversation?!"_ I asked.

Sapphire was silent. _"It's not that easy Sapph, especially if it's right after your best friend was just killed right in front of you then taken!"_ I collapsed to my knees in the purple space and sobbed, _"it's not that easy to just let go, or pretend everything is perfectly normal"_ I clenched my eyes tightly and focused on my breathing in an attempt to calm down. My partner was silent, while I cried out all my anger, frustration, guilt and pain. After all, I had barley had enough time to recover after Temple's Shattering, and then this whole thing happened. Of _course_ it would hit me hard, and I would have trouble getting over it. I knew that most of why I was holding onto my self-resentment at what I had done to Pearl was because of what I had let happen to Temple.

I knew that. But I just couldn't let it go. And Korra still hadn't forgiven me for it, whatever word you wanted to use. I shuddered, unable to stop. _"Ruby, we're coming up to where Rose said that shipment for the Prime Kindergarten is going to be"_ Sapphire said. I nodded, shaking my head to rid it of those useless thoughts, _"okay, let's do this"_ I replied. Garnet and Pearl crept up a slope and came upon the sight of a group of Peridots in the beginning stages of building Injectors. I shuddered. Something about that image was making me terrified, but I couldn't remember what. Suddenly I heard Pearl's voice, "Garnet?" she called softly. I shook myself out of it and steeled myself. Garnet summoned her gauntlets and calmed her nerves.

 _'_ _Focus'_ I thought. Sapphire scanned her Future Vision for outcomes of possible actions and what we could do to cause the best possible result. "Okay," the Fusion spoke up, "first, I need a distraction, then, I'll go down and start smashing the Injector parts. When they notice me, I'll tip over one of the containers so that it's harder for the enemy to reach me and you run around and meet up back here again. By then they will have grouped together for a proper attack and we don't want to be cut off from each other when that happens, okay?" Garnet asked. Normally Pearl would have insisted that she knew what to do, having thousands of years worth of battle experience.

But Garnet had Future Vision, that meant that she knew better than Pearl what their plan should be.

 ** _R_**

The plan went fine. Up until Pearl tried to meet back up with Garnet. Unfortunately their distraction worked a little too well and Pearl was cornered by Peridots and their Amethyst bodyguards. _'Shit!'_ I thought, racing back around to try and reach the other Gem. _"Why didn't we see this as a possibility?"_ I asked. Sapphire looked apologetic, _"I'm afraid that I'm still not good enough at looking through multiple futures, I'm sorry"_ she replied. Garnet leapt over the enemy Gems heads and grabbed Pearl's arm, "let's go!" she cried, using Sapphire's super speed to run into a tunnel network and avoid the other Gems.

"What are you doing?!" the smaller Gem demanded. "There are too many of them, we can't take them on by ourselves!" Garnet replied, turning a corner. The Fusion took many pathways to try and lose the Peridots and Amethysts until they came out into an enormous cavern, dotted with giant sparkling stalagmites and stalactites. There was no time for being impressed however, as Garnet could hear the other Gems following them. Sapphire quickly dove into her Future Vision, looking for a way they could win this, or even just get out of it. Suddenly she perked up, _"Ruby, I've looked through all the possible futures, and the only one where we win is if we-"_ suddenly their enemies started pouring into the cavern.

 _"_ _Are you_ _ **sure**_ _that's the only way?"_ I asked as my partner finished explaining what she saw. Sapphire nodded. I clenched my fists and looked down, _"but-"_ I began, as Pearl pulled her twin rapiers from her Gem and the Quartz's and Peridots also redyed their weapons, _"there's no time, it's the only way!"_ Sapphire replied. I took a deep breath, _"okay, then let's end this"_ I said in determination. Garnet turned towards Pearl, "Pearl, I can only See one way out of this, but you have to trust me," I began seriously, watching for her reaction. The skinny Gem looked at me from out of the corner of her eye. The Fusion held out her Ruby-embedded hand, staring Pearl straight in the eye.

I took another breath, "fuse with me?" Garnet asked in a whisper. Pearl turned to face her fully with wide eyes, "I-" she bit her lip, "yes, if it means we get out of here alive!" she exclaimed, as it seemed the 'born for fighting' Quartz Gems had grown tired of waiting and had begun to charge forward. Taking Garnets hand, the two spun through their attackers, before she took Pearl and threw her into the air. Knocking two Peridots away, Garnet caught Pearl in her arms before both disappeared in a column of crimson light. Our body grew larger, our colours changed and we gained two more arms. Reaching out, the new three Gem Fusion parted the light like a curtain.

" **Goooood after-** **noon** **, everyone!** " she boomed, her voice resonating throughout the cavern. The other Gems stared up in shock, "what the heck is that!?" one of them exclaimed. "It's a freak, that's what it is! A disgusting mash-up of weaklings!" one of the Amethyst's cried. From within the Fusion, my eye twitched. Sapphire's mental reprisentation put her hand on my shoulder, "let's show them just how wrong they are" she said calmly. Both Pearl and I nodded. Outside, the Fusion placed her bottom left hand on her hip, **"a disgusting mash-up of weaklings, hm?"** she asked, as she reached up with her top right hand and pulled Pearls spear from her forehead Gem, before taking it with her bottom right. Then the gems on the palms of her two top hands glowed and Garnets gauntlets appeared, only these were red. The Fusion banged them together on top of the spear and suddenly it transformed into a giant hammer with a yellow star on top.

 **"** **I wonder just how weak this will be?"** she asked, before looking down at the other Gems with a wide grin on her face, **"let's find out, shall we?"** and the top half of her body spun around as she moved her hammer back, holding it with her top left and bottom right hands, before spinning back around and smashing it into the Amethysts. They were all knocked down like bowling pins. **"oh, ho, ho, ho! It seems like I just got a strike!"** the Fusion laughed. Within her mind, Pearl looked over at me, "what?" she asked in confusion. I shook my head, "don't worry about it, let's just focus on this for now" I replied, hoping that she wouldn't ask me about it.

Thankfully, it seemed Pearl was too wrapped up in her first Fusion to really mind the strange jokes. After a few more attacks, where the Home World Gems were knocked around like pin balls, they decided to retreat. Once we were sure they were all gone, the Fusion sighed and disappeared with a 'pop' and a cloud of smoke. Sapphire and I were left standing their holding hands, while Pearl looked shocked. I looked up at the skinny Gem, "hey Pearl, I am really sorry about before" I began, causing her to look at me, "I really want to be your friend, and we do make a good team, so-" I held out my hand, "I'll try harder to keep my anger in check, and we can just be, well- friends?" I asked hopefully.

Pearl blinked, before she laughed, "of course, and I've already forgiven you" she replied, taking my hand. Sapphire smiled.

 ** _R_**

When we got back to the base and told Rose what had happened, she was amazed. She immediately wanted to meet Sardonyx, but I was still unsure. Fusing with anyone other than Sapphire or Korra was still hard for me, and despite what we had done before, that was when there was no other way. Though it was slightly different when we Fused with another Gem as Garnet, still, letting anyone else in was something that took a lot of trust. I didn't really feel up to Fusing with Pearl again right now, so Rose agreed to wait.

After thanking Pearl and apologizing to Rose, the two of us went off on our own. As we walked, I sighed. Sapphire looked over at me, "hm, what's wrong Ruby?" she asked gently. I took my partner's hand, "Sapphire, do you think how I feel about Fusion is wrong?" I asked. The blue Gem tilted her head, "what do you mean?" she asked. I sighed again, "it's just that- at first, maybe it was warranted, I mean, I had been a human for so long, and suddenly being asked to share everything with a stranger, especially when I didn't know what would happen to me was scary, so I didn't want to do it," I paused and squeezed Sapphire's hand slightly.

"Then once I realized it was okay, and we could Fuse without that, I was fairly alright with it, other than insisting on getting to know those I was Fusing with more first- and with you, it just sort of happened, but we still got to know each other more before going too deep," I paused again and clenched my fist, "but even in a battle situation, where not doing it would have resulted in Shattering, I could barely stand to make myself Fuse with a friend, I- am I too wary? Wh-why don't I trust others, or myself enough to know that it would be okay?" I asked.

I buried my face in my hands, "I just- can't" I cried. Sapphire put her arm around me, "but you did, and you were okay, right?" she asked. I shrugged, "I-I guess- heh, I suppose, Sardonyx was pretty fun, huh?" I asked slowly. My partner chuckled slightly, "what did you mean about a strike?" she asked. I giggled, "It's a bowling joke, it's this sport game from my world where you have to roll this heavy ball down what's called a lane and knock over ten pins, which are a group of tall skinny, um-" I stopped, wondering how to describe them. "Ah, here, why don't I just show you" I knelt down in the dirt and drew a bowling pin with my finger, "they look like this, and you have to knock over as many as possible to get the most points. If you can knock over all ten pins at once, you get a Strike" I explained.

Sapphire nodded, "I see, and the joke was that you knocked all the Gems down in one hit, so 'Sardonyx' got a strike" she replied, before giggling a little, "that's actually pretty funny Ruby". She wrapped her arms around me, "are you okay now?" she asked softly. I hugged her back, running my fingers through her hair, "mhm, I'm okay now, except for, well- I haven't seen Korra for Twenty years, and part of that, I know is my own fault, but is she doing okay?" I asked. Sapphire sighed, "she's been in a depression for a long time Ruby, in fact she's pretty much retreated into herself, though only metaphorically- she still has her physical form but-" I sighed and clenched my fists, "I should probably go and talk to her too, huh?" I asked.

The blue Gem leaned her forehead against mine, "you don't have to- if you feel like you can't right now, you can go later" she soothed. I closed my eyes, "thank you Sapphire, but I've put this off for long enough- it's time for me to take responsibility for my actions and friends" I replied. "Do you want me to come with you" Sapphire asked. I considered this for a moment, but ultimately decided that, no, this was something I needed to do alone. Thankfully she seemed to understand and chose to go see if anyone needed help around the base. I wondered where Korra could have gone. I really hoped it wasn't too late to fix our friendship.

To Be Continued


	14. Chapter 14

After hours of looking around the base, I collapsed in exhaustion. It wasn't so much from physical strain or energy loss, but from the emotional effort of feeling sincere regret for that length of time. I sighed, "where is she?!" I growled in frustration. "Ruby?" a soft voice asked from behind me. I spun around to find Rose standing there. She looked confused, "what's wrong?" she asked me. I sighed, "I'm trying to find Korra so that I can talk to her about the argument we had Twenty years ago, but I can't find her!" I explained, frustrated. "Oh, I'm sorry, I sent her out for a holiday/small mission half an hour ago, sorry" Rose replied. I sighed. All that searching for nothing, "no, no, it's okay, I'm sure it was very important- where did you send her by the way?" I asked. The Quartz again looked thoughtful, "let's see, I believe it was an island the humans call Japan" she replied.

My mouth dropped, "you sent Korra on a mission to Japan without me and Sapphire?!" I asked incredulously. Rose looked confused, "well you were out at the time, and it's not a very dangerous mission, so-" I cut her off, "that's not it! I've always wanted to go to Japan, ever since I was human! I don't even remember how many years I wanted to go when I was human, but it was a lot!" I fell to my knees, "and now I couldn't go again!" I wailed. Why? Why is it never me? "Um, well, you do know with the Warp Pads that you could go to Japan anytime you like when you're not busy, right?" the Quartz asked. I paused in my wailing. Oh yeah, I could do that now. "Whoo hoo! Next trip me and Sapphire take is gonna be a visit to Japan!" I exclaimed with a fist pump.

I then refocused, "how was Korra by the way, is she feeling better?" I asked. Rose hummed, "well, she did still seem a bit depressed, that's part of the reason I sent her- I figured she could use some fresh air as well as time to vent" she explained. "Hm, I see, well, I hope she feels better when she gets back" I replied. Suddenly a red blur burst into the Hideout, "Rose, help!" I jumped, and turned to see the mentioned Ruby standing there. The first thing I noticed was that she didn't look very relaxed. In fact she looked frantic. The pink Gem turned to look at the other Ruby with wide eyes, "what happened, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly. Korra didn't even turn and look at me, "one of the village's I visited was attacked by a group of Home World soldiers, and everyone except one person was killed!" she exclaimed.

Both of us gasped in horror, oh god. "I-I tried to help, but by the time I got there, there was only one human left, but she was hurt, badly!" she broke down slightly, "sh-she needs help right now" Korra sobbed a bit, biting her lip. Rose walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'll have a look at her Korra, don't worry" she replied calmly, before walking in the direction the other Gem had come from. That was when she caught sight of me. I gulped, "ah, hey K-Korra, how are you?" I asked awkwardly. The other Ruby simply stared at me, eyes narrowing. I looked down, clenching my fist, "look, I'm sorry- it's true that I wasn't able to save Temple, or even bring back the pieces of her Gem, but I swear, if I had been able to, I would have brought her home at the very least" I said.

We stared silently at each other, before Korra sighed, "I know, and I'm sorry for getting so angry at you before, I should have been more considerate of your feelings- I know that you tried as hard as you could to save her, but this is war- we can't save everybody" tears began to gather in her eyes, "I know that, but," she sniffed, "it still hurts" the shoulder-placement Ruby began to sob, clenching her fists and just letting everything out. Slowly I went and wrapped my arms around my old friend, "I know, but we can still keep trying- we don't lose until we give up" I replied. A few minutes later Rose walked out of the room where the human woman was. Korra ran over to her, "is she alright?" she asked, as I followed silently behind. The Quartz Gem nodded, "she'll be fine now, but she needs to rest, and we should find something for her to eat for when she wakes up" she replied. Korra nodded, "okay, I'll find something" she said.

An image of Amethyst eating, well, everything she eats flashed into my mind. I blanched, "um, why don't you let Sapphire and I look for human food- after all, with her Future Vision, she'll know what this woman will and won't eat, and can and can't" I replied. Korra thought for a moment, before humming in agreement, "just make sure it's not poisonous or anything" she replied, before going back to the room that housed their guest. I bid my friend goodbye, before leaving to find my partner. I followed her Gem signature until I found her talking with La La. When I saw both of them, I grinned wide, "hey Sapphire! La La!" I called and waved when they turned to look at me.

"Oh, Ruby!" the small and pale Lapis smiled and ran over to me. I hugged her, "I haven't seen you for a while!" she said with a pout. I smiled sheepishly, "ah, sorry, things have been pretty hectic lately, anyway," I looked up at my partner, "we have some errands to run for Rose and Korra" I began, but Sapphire nodded, "I know, we need to find some suitable food for the human that Korra saved" she stated. La La looked between us both with wide eyes. She was only about a head shorter than Sapphire and a few inches shorter than me, "there's a human here?!" she asked excitedly. I looked down at her with a smile and nodded, "yes, but she was badly hurt, so Rose went to tend to her wounds while she instructed Sapphire and I to go find some human food for her when she wakes up" I explained.

My partner nodded in understanding, but my former student began jumping up and down excitedly, "oo, oo, can I come?" she begged. I thought for a minute before nodding, "sure, we could use some help, couldn't we Sapph?" I asked with a smile. The blue Gem nodded, "yes, this is a very important mission, do you think you can handle it?" she asked gravely. La La nodded with a serious face, "yes ma'am!" she declared, making the diamond salute. I winced, "um, maybe use a different salute La La?" I asked. She looked confused as she moved her hands back to her sides and turned to me, "like what?" she asked.

I raised my hand and held it in a knife hand positing diagonally to my forehead, the traditional Earth army salute, "how 'bout this?" I asked. The small pale Lapis studied my position for a moment, before standing straight with her feet together and her left hand pointing straight down her legs, "understood!" she replied, performing the same salute. I smiled and nodded, "you look like a very serious and reliable soldier La La!" I replied. Then we both broke out into giggles, and even Sapphire chuckled along with us. I then turned towards the entrance to our hideout, motioning to the other two to follow me, "let's go!" I proclaimed enthusiastically.

La La fist-bumped the air, "yeah!" she cheered, "mission, go!"

 ** _R_**

I led the other two Gems through the forest, Sapphire walking beside me, pretending to be the one leading us. Truthfully, she **was** leading us a fair amount, as I would point something out that I knew was possibly edible, while my partner would use her Future Vision to check what would happen if the human woman were to eat it. Many things were dismissed with comments such as: "no, it's poisonous", "no, that's not ripe enough" "no, that one's inedible". I tried to keep calm, despite knowing that my knowledge about what humans would eat at this point in history was somewhat lacking, I still felt like I was useless.

I was the only human in the group, at least spiritually, and yet- I was barely able to help at all. By this point I could admit that I had a desperately low self-esteem. After so many years, and so many things going wrong, I could safely say that I didn't have much faith in myself. I was worried that I would get things wrong, that I would let more Gems, more _friends_ \- I clenched my fists. What good was I if I couldn't even save anyone? I shook my head, trying to focus my attention again. After we had gathered a fair amount of foods, such as roots, nuts, berries and even leaves, La La, Sapphire and I returned to our base. As we walked back, my partner took note of my mood and posture.

"Ruby?" she asked softly, "what's wrong?" I frowned, "I just feel like- I'm a little useless, I don't know much about food that was around at this point in time" I replied, deciding that it was better to just come out and say it, rather than keep it to myself and let it build up like last time. "If I can't even help care for a member of a species that I lived as for 80 years, then what good am I?" I asked, looking at the ground. Sapphire took my hand in hers, "it's alright Ruby, it's been so many years since you were a human, you're allowed to forget some of the more trivial things that don't apply to you anymore" she replied. I scrunched up my face in frustration, "but it's not trivial!" I yelled.

La La stopped and turned back to face us, looking worried. I scowled at the ground, purposely looking away from my former student so she couldn't see the self-anger and self-disappointment on my face. Some part of me felt like I was putting myself down too much, but I just couldn't help it. Ever since I had been reincarnated, I had hated my life, except for meeting Sapphire, and yet I wanted to do everything I could to change whatever I could with my knowledge. I wondered if my self-hatred and low self-esteem somehow came from the real Ruby. I knew it was more likely for it to just be from me, but no matter how much I tried to dismiss it, the thought that the original Ruby from this world- the one who _should_ be here wasn't just gone wouldn't leave my mind.

Ruby, the original one also had very low self-esteem, mostly coming from the caste system that had been in place on Home World. I had always hated the immediate assumptions that other Gems had formed of me and my friends based on the type of Gems we had, and how we looked. We were our own people, sorry, Gems, and we had our own minds. But to them we were all the same as the rest of our type. No one could be different. And those who were- so if some part of the original Ruby was still within my Gem, what did that mean for me? Was I really myself, or was I someone who wasn't one or the other? Even if the original Ruby truly _was_ gone, could I even be considered me anymore? I had relied on that thought for so long, the fact that I was _me_ and that even if I were forced to do all those horrible things, I was still myself and because of that, I would never accept being forced to do things like that. That I would get out, and come to Earth. My home, where I could be myself.

If, though, Ruby was still within my Gem, then how much of my life, my thoughts or decisions were my own? I'd already gotten over my guilt of 'stealing' her life. But if she _was_ still here, was this life really mine now, or still hers? My head swarmed with thoughts of my new identity crisis, and I had to force them away. No. I was still me. Even in Ruby's body. I had to be. But could Ruby be there, within my core? I didn't know, and all these questions without answers were only making my head hurt. We were coming up to our Hideout and I tried to focus my attention back on my immediate concerns. Everything else could wait until later. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Opening my eyes, we entered and went to find Rose to let her know that we were back. We found her, coincidentally, still in the human woman's room. I wondered what the woman's name was as we entered to find Rose and Korra standing beside her bed. Just then the woman began to stir, and I noticed the black haired woman had multiple wounds. Most of them were deep cuts on her legs and arms, these were healing fairly well. She also had a head wound though, which was much more worrying. I winced at the sight. I hadn't physically been a human for a long time, so I couldn't really remember what the pain of those kinds of injuries were like, but I knew that they would be very painful.

Sure enough, the woman gasped and flinched, trembling with pain when she became fully conscious. Rose reached out and very gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "you shouldn't move, you're very badly hurt" she explained softly. The woman, who had long black hair, almond-shaped eyes and pale skin, slowly opened her eyes, which I noticed were green, "wh-where am I?" she asked, voice weak. Rose smiled, "somewhere safe," she replied gently, "do you remember what happened to you?" she asked. The woman frowned, "n-no, I don't, what happened?" she asked.

"Your village was attacked by, well- bandits! Yes, bandits. I managed to bring you here, but the others-" Korra began. The woman gasped, "what about my Otouto?!" she asked frantically, attempting to sit up. the other red Gem frowned, "Otouto?" she asked in confusion. "Her younger brother" I replied automatically. I was met with more confused looks. "A child blood relative who her parents gave birth to also?" Rose and Korra blinked at me, while Sapphire placed her hand on my arm and turned to face everyone else, "her family" she explained. The other two Gems had "oh" faces. I sighed and turned back to Korra, "was there a small human anywhere nearby when you found her Korra?" I asked.

The other Ruby shook her head, "no, no other, well, living humans at least" she replied. I turned back to the woman, "what's your name?" I asked. She blinked, "Asami Yuna" she replied. I smiled, "well Asami, I promise we'll find and bring back your Otouto for you" I said. Asami smiled gratefully, "oh thank you so much!" she replied with tears in her eyes. "H-his name is Akatsuki! Akatsuki Yuna! Please save him!" I nodded. Then I turned towards my partner, "Sapphire? Shall we?" I asked. The blue Gem reached out and took my hand. I spun and dipped her quickly, and our forms dissolved into light.

Asami gasped as the bright purple light blinded her momentarily. When it cleared, there was one tall woman where two small people once stood. She had box shaped fluffy light blue and pink hair. Her clothes were even stranger, but it was the woman's face that caused the black-haired human's eyes to widen further. She had three eyes. Each had a different colour, with two of her eyes in the same place a regular human's would be, and the third was in the centre of her forehead. The strange woman turned to look at the black haired woman. She smiled, "hello, my name is Garnet, I am what is called a Fusion- I am made up of both Ruby and Sapphire" she explained. Garnet gave the human woman a kind look, "I promise I will return your brother to you" I said.

Asami blinked, before she nodded, "I know you will". Korra stepped up, "I'll help you!" she exclaimed determinedly. Garnet looked down at the Ruby and shook her head, "no, you need to stay here with Asami-San, she's just been through a traumatic experience, and is going to need someone to support and calm her while she waits- trust me, I know" she replied. Korra frowned, then turned to look at the black-haired woman. She looked very uncomfortable, and had since taken to lying down once again, possibly thanks to her injuries. The other Ruby sighed slightly, before nodding and turning back to face the Fusion, "yeah, I get it, I'll take care of her, you just get her Otouto back and I'll deal with things here" she replied.

Garnet nodded, and prepared to leave, before Korra stopped her, "oh, and uh- sorry, about what I said before, and for- you know, avoiding you for all that time, I know it wasn't your fault Ruby" she said. Garnet paused, before she smiled again, a wide beaming grin that just screamed: 'Ruby'. "Thank you, I mean it" she replied, before turning and leaving quickly.

 ** _R_**

As Garnet hurried to the nearest Warp Pad to take her to Japan, Sapphire and I were speaking about our plan. _"Okay, so we need to be careful, their will most likely be a lot of Homeworld Gems, especially guarding the humans. They'll be very weak and fragile, so we need to be careful around them, otherwise they could all get hurt"_ I explained. Sapphire nodded, _"I also foresee a lot of panic if we begin a battle too close to the humans, so we should draw the Gems away and possibly trap them somehow in order to give us time to get everyone out safely"_ she replied. _"True, but to do that we'd have to scout out the area first, and we may not have a lot of time"_ I said. _"We also need to be careful, I haven't been able to check my future Vision yet, not only could they be expecting something. I know it's not very likely, but neither was our first Fusion, and we both know how quickly things can go bad"_ my partner said. I nodded, my eyes clouded with pain and sadness, _"yeah, I know"_ I replied, voice soft and shaky.

I felt a bolt of Empathy and Guilt come from the Sapphire side of our Fusion, _"Ruby, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"_ she tried, and I knew that she knew the situation I was thinking of, even if we weren't fused, she would be able to tell how I felt right now. I shook my head and forced a smile on my face, _"no, it's okay, I have to face this sometime- I can't keep putting it off"_. Several glowing white butterfly's appeared and surrounded us. I closed my eyes as tears began to gather in them and clenched my fists.

I took several unnecessary deep breaths and tried to calm myself, before I opened my eyes again. To my shock and fear, _more_ thoughts had appeared! I gasped and clenched my teeth. I tried to slowly deal with the problems a little at a time, but more and more thoughts kept appearing, surrounding me. I whimpered as I looked around, my breathing becoming harsher, _"please-"_ I gasped out as the glowing butterfly's converged and positioned themselves to dive. I tried to focus but I knew that it would be useless. I also knew what these thoughts and guilt were for. Suddenly without warning the thoughts were diving towards me.

I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to hold on, but flashes of my nightmares flooded my mind every time they touched me. Recently, the majority of these horrors revolved around Temple's Shattering and Pearl's near-Shattering. The fear of Rose and Sapphire hating me once they found out who I really was had practically vanished, but now new fears and thoughts had replaced those and I felt so worthless. I _had_ been their when Temple got Shattered, but I hadn't been able to do anything about it. All I'd done was stand there, screaming like a powerless weakling. And then the remains of her Gem had been taken away, and the guilt for what I knew would happen crashed onto me as well. Tears streamed down my face in the present, as the pain of these memories built up.

I _knew_ that there would be no way to deal with this other than to actually _deal_ with it, rather than trying to put it off. But it _hurt_. It _hurt_ so much that I just wanted it to stop. It felt like the thoughts were crushing me and I couldn't _take_ it. I could feel our Fusion coming undone, could feel Sapphire separating from me. _"Ruby! Calm down!"_ the blue Gem ordered, taking hold of me by the shoulders and squeezing them in an attempt to gain my attention. I tried, I really did, but I felt so overwhelmed that I just couldn't.

 _(Sapphire's POV)_

Ruby appeared to be having what she had explained before was a Panic Attack. All of the thoughts and problems around us were just too much for her to deal with by herself. But she wasn't alone in this after all. I knew that I needed to do something to calm her down and snap her out of it. There was only one thing I could See that would help though. I pulled my partner close and wrapped my arms around the red Gem. Closing my eye I leaned in and captured her lips with mine. Ruby froze, her shaking pausing instantly, leaving her (metaphorically) frozen in my arms. Then she relaxed. Her tense posture melted away and she kissed me back. The thoughts surrounding us didn't go away, but rather backed up, as they weren't in focus anymore.

As we ended our kiss, Ruby leaned her forehead against mine and let out a content sigh. I hummed a small tune and began running my fingers through her short square hair, _"It's okay now Ruby, just breathe"_ I said softly. The red Gem closed her eyes, took a deep breath and released it.

 _(Ruby's POV)_

When I opened my eyes again, I found the purple of our shared mindscape around us, with nothing but myself and Sapphire filling it. I sighed in relief at not seeing all the thoughts that had been swarming around us just a few minutes before. Looking up at the blue Gem next to me, I smiled gratefully, _"thanks Saph, I really needed that"_ I replied. My partner smiled, _"you're welcome, I was happy to help"_ she replied, caressing my face with a cool hand. I sighed in bliss, relaxing completely for a moment, before I became serious once again, _"right, this is no time to be getting worked up. We have an innocent Human boy to save!"_ I replied.

Garnet shook her head, taking a deep breath and releasing it. She began making her way towards the Warp Pad again. As she stood there, letting the light of the Warp encumber her, all three of us focused on the mission at hand. It was time to go save Akatsuki-Kun!

To Be Continued


	15. Chapter 15

When the light from the Warp faded we found ourselves in a forest. Looking around, Sapphire spotted the tell-tale footprints, crushed leaves and broken branches of what had most likely been Korra's path through the trees, _"Ruby, look there, that was probably the direction Korra came from after rescuing Asami from those Home World Gems"_ she explained. I nodded with a smile, _"right! Let's go then!"_ I replied. As we moved cautiously towards what was most-likely the remnants of Asami and Akatsuki's village, something occurred to me that made us slow down. I turned towards the blue Gem, _"Sapphire, if the Homeworld Gems killed everyone else in Asami's home, how do we know that Akatsuki-Kun isn't-"_ I paused, not wanting to say it out loud.

Sapphire understood, _"well, it is true that they might have killed him along with the others, but we also know from your future knowledge that at some point, Pink Diamond has a Human Zoo built and that some humans from Earth were taken there. It would make sense that young, strong humans would be taken for the Zoo, humans like the children for example"_ she replied. I nodded, since that did make sense after all. _"So you think that the Gems might have taken the boy for the Zoo?"_ I asked. _"Yes, but don't forget also that a lot of the Home World Gems time and resources are being taken up with trying to colonize the planet, while also dealing with Rose's Rebellion. I haven't gotten any conformation from my Visions yet, but I assume that the humans are being held somewhere until they have the time and opportunity for a ship to come and take them"_ Sapphire explained.

I nodded again, _"alright, so I'm assuming that the first part of this is going to be scouting out where the humans are being held and then find and then, the next part will be to rescue Akatsuki from wherever that is?"_ I asked for confirmation. My partner nodded, _"exactly"._ I nodded back before we focused back onto the mission at hand. Garnet moved carefully through the foliage, listening carefully for any signs that enemies might already be waiting for them. Unlike that mission with Rose and the others, she only had herself to rely on, there was no one there watching her back. Sapphire was delving into her Future Vision, searching for any possible reasons where they were caught and being careful to keep Garnet from committing any of those.

Thankfully the Japanese climate seemed to be much wetter than where they lived normally, so the leaves under her feet didn't make much noise, and the soft shuffling could be mistaken for a small forest animal instead of a potential enemy. As the fusion snuck closer to Asami's old village, the scent of burnt wood, along with something else floated through the air towards them. Soon Garnet reach the ruins of what must have been the human Japanese village. The whole thing was a smoking husk of houses and buildings. There were many- bodies of humans, possibly ones that had fought back against the invasion. Ruby gagged, feeling the horror of what she was seeing destabilize their Fusion.

 _"Ruby, Ruby, you have to calm down"_ Sapphire stated upon seeing the state of her partner. Tears filled the red Gems eyes. This was a species that she used to be. Back when she had been human, she had _never_ seen so much as one act of violence against another human in person. So seeing something like this horrified her. Garnet moved forwards through the small village mindlessly, until something bright caught her eye. All three looked down, seeing a small wooden doll that was carved and painted to look like a bird. Despite the soot and dirt that covered it, dulling the paint and chipping it a bit, the animal was still in quite good condition. The bright colours and delicate carving spoke of how much effort and care was put into creating this small child's toy.

Garnet reached down and picked it up, gently brushing the dirt from it's surface and inspecting the doll with great care so as not to accidental break it with her strength. _"Oh, this is absolutely horrible, all of this destruction and death dealt to these people, and for what? We must find these humans quickly Ruby"_ Sapphire stated. Ruby nodded silently, and had Garnet place the doll into her gem. With that taken care of, the Fusion continued to search around for any clues as to where the Gems could have taken the humans.

 ** _R_**

Ruby and Sapphire eventually decided that at least the younger humans would have been taken to Pink Diamonds Human Zoo, and so were now debating on whether it was safe enough to take the warp pads to where the only human-safe Space Ship was located. _"It **will** be very well guarded- this is a delivery for a **Diamond**. We should be careful about this" _ Sapphire said. I frowned, _"Sapph, your Visions aren't 100% accurate, what if they've left already, or something else has happened? Besides, human children are even more fragile than the adults because their bodies are still growing and changing. Most everything that would be not threatening to a Gem, could harm or even outright **kill** a human child" _ I explained.

The cryonic seer frowned slightly, _"I see- that could be problematic"_ she replied, thinking, before falling into more possible futures, trying to find out if there were any possible futures where the humans, or especially the child she foresaw as being the one they'd come to rescue would get hurt. I tried to keep from getting impatient, bringing a mental version of the toy bird into our shared mind to keep myself from distracting her. I carefully traced it's delicately carved features, even though it wasn't a real one. I closed my eyes imagining how the child would have played with this toy. It was obviously well loved and played with. _"Sapphire, we have to save this planet and all it's people- somehow"_ I whispered. My Partner hugged me, _"we will"_. Eventually deciding that taking too long would be worse than not, Garnet took the Warp Pad to where the ship was.

 _"Okay, get ready"_ Sapphire said, as we braced ourselves. The light from the Warp died down and we found ourselves surrounded by Home World Gems. Garnet tensed up, before she noticed that no one was paying any attention to them what-so-ever. _"Everyone's distracted, shrink now, quickly!"_ Our Fusion instantly shrank so that she wouldn't be noticed. Smaller Gems tended to get overlooked completely by larger ones. Garnet began running towards the ships, dodging the larger Gems boots. Unfortunately, being so small, made her take longer to move. Finally she managed to reach the ships. Sapphire delved into her Future Vision to find the one that the humans were being kept on. Breathing deeply to calm my nerves, I tried to focus on our mission now. This was where it became crucial that we be careful. A single mistake could lead to multiple deaths. I began to shake slightly, before I felt Sapphire grab my hand.

Looking over at the blue Gem, I saw her smile reassuringly at me, _"we can do this Ruby, just try to relax, alright? Everything is going fine so far"_ Nodding, I took a deep breath and did as asked. _"So, what next?"_ I asked. _"We need to find Akatsuki, it would be much easier to get him away from here if we were able to Bubble humans"_ the blue Gem stated. I blinked, bubble? I turned excitedly towards Sapphire, _"wait, say that again!"_ I exclaimed. Sapphire blinked, not that I could see that under the curtain of blue hair, _"I said that it would be much easier to get Akatsuki away from here if we could bubble him, then we could just send him back home and worry about ourselves"_ she replied. I grinned widely, remembering that the original Garnet had bubbled Steven in the cartoon.

 _"Sapphire, you're a genius!"_ I exclaimed, hugging my partner. _"If we bubble Akatsuki-Kun, we can send him back home then make our own get away!"_ I cried with a grin. _"But would that work? I've never heard of Gems being able to bubble humans before?"_ the blue Gem asked. _"Garnet did in the cartoon, if she could do it, we should be able to as well"_ I replied. Sapphire eventually nodded, _"alright, we'll try it"_ she agreed. As Garnet made her way up the boarding ramp to the human carrying ship. As we managed to find a place that would provide cover for her even when she unshrank, Sapphire once again checked her Future Vision first.

After determining a path that would lead to the least amount of enemies noticing us, as at this point it would be a bit hard not to, Garnet began creeping through the ship. I sighed, _"maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stay like this"_ I said, gesturing to our Fusions bright pink and blue form, _"it's really not helpful for sneaking around a dark ship"_. Sapphire nodded in acquiescence, _"perhaps not. When we reform next, we should choose a less-conspicuous form"_ she replied. I nodded. Right at that moment, a bolt of energy hit our body. _"Not again!"_ I screamed as I recognised the pain of a Gem Destabilizer. Garnet fell apart just before we poofed. I rolled into a defensive position as I hit the ground, quickly taking in the situation. There was a single Home World Amethyst standing behind us and sneering. She held a Gem Destabilizer in one hand and a whip in the other.

"Hello there you rebel freaks. I hope you weren't thinking that you could just sneak in here without any problems?" she asked. I growled, pulling out my boxing glove, while Sapphire coated her fists in ice spikes. The large Amethyst scoffed, "oh please, like I'm afraid of the defective Ruby and a rebel Sapphire, just because you're able to become some disgusting mash-up Gem, doesn't mean you're any threat to me!" she cried as she slashed at us with her whip, but I smirked, deflecting the strike with a swipe of my arm. She gaped, "what?!" The Amethyst kept trying to hit me, but I deflected every blow, managing to get in close.

With the next strike, I gripped the whip in my hand and pulled it away from her, while simultaneously pushing the bigger Gem back with a palm thrust. "That's impossible!" the Amethyst cried, before she gasped suddenly. The purple Gem dissipated, her Gem falling to the floor and revealing Sapphire with her arm out-stretched. The long deadly ice spikes on her knuckles having clearly pierced their enemy's body, causing her to poof. I grinned and walked over to my partner, while she melted the ice. The two of us high-fived each other in victory. Hey, just because the humans wouldn't invent the gesture for thousands of years, didn't mean that we couldn't do it.

Wordlessly I took Sapphires arm and spun her around, fusing instantly once again. But there was something different about Garnet this time. _"Hey Sapph, take a look at us"_ I said with a grin. Looking at our current form as a Fusion caused us both to grin. Garnet had big poofy sleeves like Sapphire, but they were coloured light purple. The collar of our shirt was low and rimmed with light pink, which also connected to a lightning bolt shape on the front of the shirt. Garnet's waist and legs were black and her hair was solid black and large and square, like my own hair was. Sapphire smiled, _"well, it looks like Garnet is less noticeable like you wanted Ruby"_ she replied. _"Yep! Now let's go and find the humans"_.

Then Garnet, in her new form hurried to where they saw the humans being kept.

 ** _R_**

As we moved towards the humans, I was thinking, _"hey Sapph, maybe it would be better if we covered Garnet's eyes with something"_ I said. Sapphire cocked her head to the side in confusion, _"why?"_ she asked. _"Well, humans don't have three eyes, it might scare them if they see that"_ I explained. After a moment's thought, the blue Gem nodded, _"alright, then how about this?"_ she suggested, materializing a pair of one-way glasses over their Fusions eyes. I blinked, _"how do you know what sun glasses are?"_ I asked curiously. _"I have been a part of you for a long time now, I get a few things over our Fusion, even if it is subconsciously"_ Sapphire explained.

Garnet continued towards where the humans were, making sure to check with Future Vision to make sure that there were no more enemy Gems on their path. Finally, after ten more minutes, she found a room with many human children in it, as shown by the surveillance screens set outside the room. She grinned, "found them" she breathed.

To Be Continued


	16. Chapter 16

_"_ _Okay, so we're rescuing Akatsuki. What about the other children?"_ I asked. Sapphire sighed, _"it would be too hard to rescue all of them without something going wrong. As it is, we don't even know if Bubbling Akatsuki will work or not. Besides, there were humans living in the Zoo in the future, right? These children are probably their ancestors"_ she replied. I frowned, feeling a knot form in my non-existent stomach at the thought of just leaving all of these children behind. But as it was, it was pushing it just to rescue the one small human boy from this ship. Trying to rescue the others would never work.

I sighed, _"alright, just Akatsuki then"_ I replied. Garnet cracked her knuckles, before denting the door with one powerful punch. On the screen, we could see and hear all the children jump and scream at the loud noise and I winced. Defiantly not making a very good first impression. Now that I thought about it, how was I going to convince Akatsuki that I had been sent by his older sister? I sighed, this was going to be tough. As Garnet pried the door open wide enough to step through, she looked around. All the children were huddled close to the wall, some were crying, others were curled into balls and rocking backwards and forwards. A few of the very young ones were wailing while what were presumably their older siblings tried to calm them.

Upon seeing this, my metaphorical heart clenched. All these poor children. I knew that they would be safe and happy in the Zoo eventually, with their descendants not even remembering this planet at all. But the thought of how they would be for presumably much of their lives until then made me shudder. I could just imagine how terrified and traumatized they would all be for years. But there were some things that we couldn't change, no matter how much I wanted to change them. She looked around, "is Akatsuki Yuna here? Please, I was sent here by his older sister" Garnet asked. A small boy near the back of the room stood up, "My name is Akatsuki, you know my Nee-Chan?" he asked.

Looking over the young boy, who had long grey hair tied into a braid, I blushed slightly when I realised that I hadn't asked Asamai _what_ her Otouto looked like before I left the base. But I was sure that this boy would have no reason to lie, so I nodded, "yes, she was very worried about you" Garnet replied as we walked forwards slowly, so as not to frighten the other children. Many of them moved away from my path slightly, so as not to be stepped on. When I stopped in front of the grey-haired boy I held out my hand for him to grab, "she was found by another of my friends and brought to our base, then I volunteered to come rescue you" I explained. Akatsuki nodded, but instead of taking my hand, he narrowed his eyes, "what about the others?" he asked. I paused for Garnet paused for a moment as excited but still slightly fearful chatter filled the room.

I felt slightly torn. I wanted to save all of these children, but a part of me knew that I wouldn't be able to change some things. And Sapphire agreed, _"taking the one child is manageable, and, once we're gone and only one human is missing, the Homeworld Gems won't think enough of one missing human to retaliate, but if we take more than that- the possibilities don't look good Ruby. We could end up captured or worse"_ she replied. I clenched my fist, looking down at the small wooden bird that I had conjured in my mindscape. I couldn't just leave them all here. And yet, if we took any more than the human boy we had come here for, who knew what would happen. "I'm sorry" I said to him, to all of them, while a singe tear fell down Garnet's face on the Ruby side.

I reached out and, with a thought, a magenta Bubble appeared around the child. Many shocked, startled and even a few fearful gasps were heard from the other children around the room, but I focused on the task at hand. After getting over his shock, Akatsuki began banging his tiny fists on the inside of the Bubble, "hey, let me out! You have to take the others too!" he cried. I felt guilt begin to creep up on me for what I was going to do, so Sapphire was the one who replied through Garnet: "You'll thank me later". Then our Fusion tapped the top of the Bubble and the whole thing vanished, heading back to base. Many of the children began crying or screaming, wanting to know what I had done to the grey-haired boy. But I had no time to answer, we had to get out of here now, before we were found again.

As Garnet turned to go, she stopped, hearing the fearful cries of the humans behind her. I clenched my fist tighter, feeling my metaphorical heart ache. These were innocent human children. It had been a long time, but I could still remember what it felt like to be human. Even if only vaguely. The thought of abandoning all of these poor terrified children caused a heavy pit to form inside her stomach. She hadn't even done it yet and she already felt guilty. And it's not like they couldn't escape for themselves now that there was a large hole in the door. I clenched my teeth. I knew what the right thing to do was. But was it the best thing? Suddenly I heard shouts from outside the room. My eyes widened. Either that Amethyst had reformed and come after us, or other Homeworld Gems had found their Poofed leader and were now searching for the ones who had caused that.

 _"_ _Damn it! We're out of time! There's no way we could take all of these kids with us and get out of here safely"_ I thought. Glancing back at the frightened children I grimaced, "I'm sorry" I said, and I really ment it. Then Garnet ran out of the room using her super speed. Just in time too, since not even a moment later a group of quartzes ran up to the holding cell. The apparent leader growled, "whoever caused all of this is gone, the captives are secured for now" she spoke into some kind of communication device.

 ** _R_**

Sneaking out of the ship was considerably harder than sneaking in since many of the Gems stationed there were now on guard, but with Future Vision, it was thankfully easier than it otherwise would have been. There were a few near-misses, but those were accounted for, and we managed to reach the Warp Pad soon enough. Now the only problem was getting out of here without being seen. _"We could try what we did to get here?"_ I asked. However my partner shook her head, _"it would be too suspicious, everyone is on high alert now. If we were to Warp away now, no matter how small we were, it would draw the enemy's attention."_ Sapphire explained.

I began to think about what we could do to get out of here. _"we could try stealing a ship, or pretend to steal one as a distraction maybe"_ I suggested. The blue Gem hummed in thought, mulling those two ideas over. _"From what I can see, those two ideas are the ones with the highest possibility of successfully getting us back to base safely,"_ she replied a few minutes later, _"but they are both still potentially dangerous, so we'll have to be careful"_ she explained. I nodded, _"I know"_. We eventually decided on the second option. Thankfully Garnet had Super speed, so we could set a ship on Auto-pilot, then leave it and Warp away while everyone was worried about the ship. Even if an enemy Gem thought she'd seen something, it wouldn't be as important as stopping the ship. It seemed luck was on our side today, as we were easily able to set the Auto-pilot on one of the ships.

I wasn't sure who spotted it first, but all we heard as we began making our way to the Warp Pad with our Super Speed was: "hey you! What do you think you're doing!?" yelled towards the empty ship. Many Gems rushed towards it in an attempt to stop whoever was controlling it. Garnet was able to stick to the shadows and with her new form, was easily able to slip past everyone else unnoticed. As the Fusion reached the Warp Pad, I looked back at the ship holding the humans for one fleeting moment, before focusing on the Warp Pad nearest to our base. We were gone in a column of bluish-white light.

 ** _R_**

When we landed on the Warp Pad outside our hideout, Garnet abruptly fell apart. I panted, despite not needing to breath. Damn that had been nerve-wracking. At least now we were all safe. Mission accomplished. "Ruby! Sapphire!" a familiar voice called. Before I could look up, we both found ourselves enveloped large in peach coloured arms. "R-Rose?!" I yelped, having not completely come out of my battle-ready state, I had to keep myself from reaching up and breaking our Leader's neck on instinct. The Quartz Gem soon stepped back, releasing us in the process. Only to come face-to-face with a teary eyed Asami, who was clutching Akatsuki to her like a lifeline. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Oh thank you so much!" she exclaimed. She looked me in the eyes, still smiling and crying happily, "you brought him back to me, just like you promised!" the young human woman sobbed with a smile on her face.

I grinned and rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly, "heh, it was no problem at all, I was happy to help you both, and, while I can't speak for my partner at the moment, I'm sure Sapphire feels the same way, right?" I asked, turning to her. The blue Gem smiled slightly at the two humans and nodded, "I'm glad we were able to bring you two together again" she replied. I sighed then, "well, I think I'm going to go have a rest after everything that's just happened" I said, walking passed the two humans, and ignoring the death-glare that Akatsuki was sending me. I knew what that was for, and no doubt this would now be weighing me down until I dealt with it too. Sapphire wordlessly followed me, but stayed far enough away as to let me have my own space. It was wordlessly agreed among those who cared to give Asami and Akatsuki some time alone together now that they were reunited.

The two siblings spent their time together, though the young woman seemed to invite Korra to join them very often as well. Time seemed to move very slowly after that, but with humans living with us, I supposed it had to. After all, if I were still human, it would be the same for me, just living day-to-day instead of year-by-year. Korra and Asami soon seemed to become closer. So-much-so in fact, that rumours were spreading through the rebellion that the Ruby had fallen in love with the human woman. Of course, many were overjoyed for them, Sapphire, myself and Rose among them. But a few Gems were less than enthusiastic. One day as Sapphire and I were waiting for Pearl so that we could begin my Sword fighting lesson, we noticed that it was taking much longer than normal for the usually so punctual Gem to get to the clearing where we would train. I held my short sword, the one that she had given me, though it was still larger when I held it.

My partner was sitting off to the side, waiting patiently. Suddenly Pearl came storming into the clearing, and she was very obviously in a bad mood. I looked on worriedly as she fumed silently, sharing a look with Sapphire as we both watched the thin Gem pace and rant under her breath. When the ice-wielding Gem gave me a look that seemed to say: _'go on, you're better a talking to people Ruby'_ (and wasn't _that_ ironic considering how I used to be in my previous life) I took a deep breath to calm my nerves and stepped towards the fuming Gem, "Pearl, what's wrong?" I asked gently, trying to start this off slow. "Them of course!" she suddenly exclaimed, making me flinch. "I mean, what is Rose thinking, letting Korra and Asami be together!? Not that this has anything to do with them being different species, that I can tolerate, but-" suddenly she cut herself off, returning to pacing around the clearing.

"So, what **is** the problem then?" I asked her. Pearl fumed for a moment, not looking like she was going to respond, but it seemed like the need to vent was greater than whatever was holding her back, "they barely even **know** each other Ruby! I mean, it's only been one year! Who can they already say that they love each other!?" she demanded. I tilted my head to the side quizzically, "um, Pearl, you do know that the human lifespan falls _faaar_ below our own, right? Asami was already around 18 or so when Korra met her, they don't have that much time to be together, about maybe-" I did some counting in my head, "75 years if I'm counting correctly until she's too old to do anything but sit down, hell, by the time Asami reaches 92 years of age, she probably won't remember much of anything, if she even lives that long in the first place" I explained. "Humans take much less time getting to know one another before falling in love, because of their shortened life spans. They _should_ be spending as much time together as they can **while** they can. Because that's not long at all".

Pearl looked like she wanted to argue, but she just shook her head and stormed off. I sighed, leaning against a tree, while Sapphire walked over to me. She leaned her head on my shoulder, "what do you think Korra and Asami are going to do?" she asked softly. "The only thing that they can do- spend as much time together as they can." I replied.

 ** _R_**

That night Korra caught some fish for her partner and her younger brother. When she returned to base, she found the two humans all ready sitting around an unlit campfire. The Ruby went up to the two and sent down her haul, "hey" she said, giving Asami a quick kiss on the cheek. She giggled, "you really didn't have to go to all this trouble Korra" she stated as the shoulder Ruby used her Pyrokinesis to light the fire. "I know, but I wanted to" the Gem replied. Sapphire and myself walked towards the fire where the two humans and Korra were. "Hey" I said. Everyone turned to look at us. Asami smiled, "hello Ruby, Sapphire, it's good to see you this evening" she said cheerfully. I tightened my grip on Sapphire's hand slightly, before I turned back to the remaining Ruby in the Rebellion, "we were kind of wondering if we could join you all tonight?" I asked my friend.

Thankfully, after we had retrieved Akatsuki, Korra and I had mended our relationship. Of course, thinking about what had happened to Temple still upset the other Ruby, but she had since apologised to me for blowing up the way she had and thanked me instead for saving Asami's younger brother. I still called him her Otouto, since I did know Japanese. Before Korra could say anything, Akatsuki jumped up, "of course you can, come on!" he exclaimed cheerfully, taking both our hands and pulling us down to sit with them. He peered over Asami's shoulder, "are the fish nearly done Nee-Chan?" he asked. "They should be" she replied, inspecting them from a safe distance. After all, she and her brother weren't fire-proof.

The black-haired woman looked up from her grey-haired sibling, "do Gems really not need to eat at all?" she asked, still sounding slightly sceptical about that, despite how many times we had told her. "Gems don't have stomachs, and we don't need edible matter to survive no. Though we can shape-shift so I suppose if we really wanted to, we could make stomachs for ourselves so we could eat" I explained. Both Asami and Akatsuki looked both disgusted and fascinated by this information. After all, neither of us had been so technical about it before. "So, you and Sapphire are together?" Asami eventually asked. I nodded, "can I ask how long you've been together?" she asked me. "Longer than you've been alive," I wrapped my arm around the blue Gem and pulled her closer to me, "Sapphire is my Soulmate" I said cheerfully.

The human woman looked confused, "what's a Soulmate?" she asked. I smiled slightly, "a Soulmate is the one person in this Universe that is meant for you. She or he is your other half, the person that completes you. Sapphire is that for me. And Korra is that for you, right?" I asked with a gentle smile. Asamai blinked at me, before smiling and turning to the other Ruby as she wrapped her arm around her, "yes, she is" she replied.

 ** _R_**

Two years later we were in another battle against Home World. Asami and Akatsuki were hidden in a safe place to keep them away from any danger. The Crystal Gems had decided to officially take the Sky Arena so as to keep pushing the enemy back. As we fought against the enemy, Garnet had to keep an eye on Korra and Lala to make sure nothing happened to either of them. La La seemed to be doing well, flying above the battle and using her Hydrokinesis to poof and or knock enemy Gems off the edge of the arena. I couldn't help but be proud. She'd come such a long way. Korra on the other hand was taking out enemy Gems with ease, using her Pyrokinesis to wipe out those around her.

She'd fallen in love with Asami Yuna and humans in general, and she was now determined to make sure this planet was safe for them to live on. Much like how I was. Some of the other Crystal Gems had also fallen in love with this planet, but mainly they were fighting for the right to be free form oppression and be able to live their lives as they wanted. We all knew that this was a mission that would not only be hard, but also dangerous. However, everyone who had joined the Crystal Gems was here because we wanted to be. Because we wanted to be free of the threat of being Shattered just because we were different. I closed my eyes for a moment. Then Garnet opened her mouth and began to sing, loud enough for everyone to hear it:

"Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!"

I gained a determined look, causing Garnet to run to where one of Rose's flags had been placed. The sign of the Rebellion. Korra continued, joining me, singing to both our fellow Crystal Gems as well as our enemies:

"Will you join in our crusade?

Who will be strong and stand with me?

Beyond the barricade

Is there a world you long to see?

Then join in the fight

That will give you the right to be free!"

I waved the flag, causing a loud cheer to rise through the ranks of our fellow Crystal Gems. Our singing seemed to be off-putting to the Home World Gems, and they looked around warily as more and more Gems took up the song, showing everyone just how determined we were to not give up on becoming free.

ALL

"Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!"

I continued to sing, raising everyone's spirits:

"Will you give all you can give

So that our banner may advance

Some will fall and some will live

Will you stand up and take your chance?

The shards of the martyrs

Will litter the meadows of Earth!"

ALL

"Do you hear the people sing?

Singing a song of angry men?

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!

When tomorrow comes!" I cried, raising the flag, causing a huge cheer to erupt around the rebels. The Home World Gems looked unnerved now, but the battle resumed. The Crystal Gems were able to drive the attacking Gems back, with no other casualties that day. As everyone was celebrating, Rose came up to Garnet, "that was incredible! Did one of you come up with that song?" she asked with starry eyes. "It was actually a song that Ruby know from before" the Fusion explained, blushing slightly. "Well it was the perfect thing to raise moral back up, thank you" Rose replied, before leaving to tend to the injured Gems around the Battle field. Within Garnet's mind, Sapphire placed her hand on my shoulder, "that really was a wonderful idea Ruby, you did good today" she said with a smile. I grinned at my partner, "well, the lyrics fit, so I thought it might help" I replied. As we helped everyone clean up the weapons, and gather any good looking ones, I thought about how things had been going.

Everything had actually been pretty good since we'd rescued and taken in Asami and Akatsuki. Of course that meant it wouldn't last long.

To Be Continued


	17. Chapter 17

A few months later, Rose called a meeting. As all of the Crystal Gems stood waiting for their leader to join them, I turned to face my partner, "do you know what this is about Sapph?" I asked. She nodded, "I do, but we should wait for Rose to explain exactly what we're doing" she replied. I shrugged, "okay then". Just then Rose spoke up, "alright everyone, today we have a very important mission that will add to our cause." The pink Gem began. She waited a moment, just in case anyone wanted to say anything. "This mission is to take the Homeworld Ziggurat in one of Earth's deserts. We will drive off or dissipate any enemy Gems we come up against, understand?" she asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Bismuth flinch and frown at Rose's words.

I frowned- I _really_ hoped things ended up well after this battle was over. And if not- what would I tell the others? Many people loved Bismuth or at least liked her. I knew that Sapphire knew what was likely to happen, I had already told her, plus she had seen my memories when we fused. We had already gone over everything I remembered from the cartoon with Rose, so I knew that our leader knew about Bismuth and the Breaking Point, but could the Quartz stop our friend without Poofing and Bubbling her? I hoped so. I had already lost one friend, I didn't want to lose another to her own overly determined ways. "Right, let's move!" our leader called.

 ** _R_**

We were able to travel in groups through a Warp Pad to get the site of the Ziggurat, everyone had their weapons out, ready for when they'd reach their destination. I was nervous, but Sapphire wrapped her arms around mine, and I relaxed. Maybe not all the way, since that would be stupid, but enough that I wasn't too worried. I knew that my Partner couldn't See everything, but she could see more than before. As soon as we touched down, Sapphire and I kissed, Fusing with a bright purple light. Garnet leapt off the Warp Pad, her gauntlets forming in a flash, and raced forwards alongside her friends.

This battle was just as chaotic as every other she'd fought in, and the Fusion found herself having to focus her Future Vision on the other Crystal Gems in order to keep as many of them from being shattered as possible. She _didn't_ want another Temple situation. I found myself breathing hard within Garnet's mindscape, despite neither needing to breathe nor the battle being too intense. At some point, Garnet's Future Vision could no longer find Rose or Bismuth within the battlefield. As we continued to fight, I suddenly noticed something. An Agate was headed towards Pearl, who was fighting some way off. She held a Destabiliser in hand, and the "Renegade Pearl" seemed too preoccupied fighting the other enemies around her. Garnet gritted her teeth. Not one of us ever wanted to watch someone we cared about get hurt again if there was anything we could do about it.

Garnet rushed towards the thin Gem as fast as she could. However, she knew that she wouldn't have time to push Pearl out of the way of the attack. Their was only one way we could possibly save our friend, and it involved inserting herself into the right place within a split-second. Garnet reached Pearl and the Agate, leaping between the two and taking the Destabilizer to the back. All three of us screamed. God it _hurt_! But we **couldn't** allow our form to dissipate yet. Pearl was still- then Pearl took off the Agate's head with her sword, Poofing the bigger Gem and leaving her gemstone on the ground. Then and only then did we allow ourselves to retreat to our Gemstones.

 ** _R_**

I found myself within a red space. However, that was the only thing distinguishing feature about the area I now found myself in. It seemed to be completely empty aside from myself. For a moment I had no idea where I was, "Hello? Is anyone there?" I called. Nothing. It was very strange. The space was familiar, even though I _knew_ that I had never been here before. I wondered if I should be scared, then decided that there was literally nothing to be scared _of_. I sighed, "what is it with Gems and never sitting down? I mean, would it shatter anyone to have a few couches or something around- *gasp*!" I began, then cut off with a shocked exclamation, as a very soft and comfortable looking couch appeared from nowhere directly in front of me.

I stared at it for a moment, cocking my head to the side. Then I sat on it experimentally. It was _so soft_ and _comfy!_ Not like anything they'd had back on Homeworld. Nothing was ever _soft_ their. No one ever created anything for comfort, or, god-fobid- pleasure on that damned planet. I hadn't relaxed on a soft and comfortable piece of furniture for, like- more than 200 years. I relaxed back into the couch, sighing in pleasure. After a moment, I began to realise something. I was alone in this red space, with no one but myself, but I could make things appear on command. To test it out, I thought about a very special possession of mine that I still remembered from my human life. A fairly large, material toy crocodile appeared from nowhere, which I reached out and hugged tightly. Croc! "my croc" I muttered softly to myself.

Soon I looked up again. "So, this must be my Gem then," I looked down slightly, "that means I was Poofed, and Sapphire must be-" suddenly I gasped and sat bolt upright, "Sapphire! If I was Poofed, then she must have been too! Her Gem, **both** our Gems are in the middle of a battle, with no one taking care of them! We could be Shattered just by someone accidently stepping on us!" I whimpered, clutching my toy to my chest and looking around for something to help me get out of here. Suddenly I noticed a red light coming from- my back? I tried to see what it was, but couldn't move my head enough to see. If only I had a mirror- I almost slapped myself in exasperation.

With a simple thought, a fairly large, Ruby-sized mirror appeared before me. Still clutching Croc to ease my nerves, I turned around and examined my back in the mirror. Their was what looked like a glowing red hole on my back. I frowned, why was their- wait! I remembered, that was where I'd been stabbed by the Destabiliser. That glowing hole must represent the injury I had taken in the battle. As I watched, the 'wound' began closing up. "Huh. So that's how it works" I muttered out loud. It seemed like it would take a while for the damage to heal so I wondered back over to the couch. Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I scowled at the sight of the Blue Diamond on my chest. Well, it was more than time to get rid of that. With that thought, the Diamond vanished from my shirt. Then a silver star appeared to replace it instead. I smiled and nodded. Looking at the rest of my appearance, I decided to increase the length of my shorts so that they completely covered my legs.

Next I gave myself a few experimental outfits, before settling on my main one from cartoon, one with the modified pant length. Looking over my new look, I nodded and the mirror vanished. Wondering back over to the couch, I sat down and grabbed Croc. I sighed, what did I do now? I decided to go over what I knew of Steven Universe the cartoon, so I could make sure that I remembered right. After all, it had been 213 years since I watched the show, I needed to ensure that I remembered as many of the important bits as possible. With that, a TV appeared in front of me, and I began to watch some of the episodes. I did skip a lot, since I didn't know how much time I had here. Soon I reached an episode called 'Can't go back'. Intrigued I decided to watch it. I loved Lapis's song, I thought it was beautiful. However, during Steven's 'Vision Dream' or whatever you called it, I was shocked.

I hadn't remembered any of this! As soon as it was finished, I went straight to the next episode which was titled: 'A single pale rose'. I watched as Steven travelled through Pearls Psyche, interacting with all the sectioned off parts of her personality. I became more and more nervous with each layer the boy went through. I couldn't remember any of this! Finally, Steven reached the end, and Rose's big secret was revealed. I had frozen, clutching Croc like a lifeline. It was one thing to be a fan of the show and watch everything as a human, because it never impacted you from behind a TV screen. But this was my _life_ we were talking about. My life, Sapphire's life- everyone's lives! I was so shocked that I didn't even notice that the TV had gone straight to the next episode. My throat constricted as Sapphire yelled at me- at Ruby, that wasn't me yet.

Hearing her call our relationship a lie- that wasn't true! I'd loved her from the moment I'd first met her, Rose had nothing to do with that! Or should I say, Pink Diamond. Watching Pink's backstory gave me more perspective on why she had taken on the mantle of Rose Quartz and started the rebellion. Learning that it was all because of us, was- indescribable. Most of the next couple of episodes weren't much. Watching Sapphire break down over me running away was heart-wrenching. If only I had a heart to wrench. I couldn't help but laugh though as I saw myself acting like a Cowboy, or Cowgirl really.

The end of that episode brought me to tears. I _proposed to Sapphire! I asked her to marry me and she said yes!_ I would have watched the wedding episode, but I felt a tinging in my back. When I checked it in the mirror, I found the wound completely gone. Placing croc down on the couch, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Feeling my Gem, I concentrated on letting my energy escape it's confines and begin to create my new form outside again. I wondered how much time had passed and what Rose- Pink Diamond I corrected myself, had ended up doing. I decided I needed to speak to Sapphire as soon as possible to avoid that whole mess in the future. And I defiantly had to talk to Pink and Pearl right after that. I had no idea how this would change things. But my very existence in this world had changed things, so it's not like it mattered much either way.

Pink needed to sort this out with her- sisters? And mother? Were those accurate in describing Blue and Yellow Diamond's relationship with her, as well as her relationship with White? I wasn't sure, but I was sure we could work _something_ out, maybe most of the other bad things could be avoided.

 ** _R_**

 _(With Sapphire)_

The blue Gem sat within their Base. They had managed to take the Ziggurat and get out, but when Rose had come back, she had confirmed that Bismuth had built the Breaking Point and had become enraged when she had refused to use it. Their friend had tried to attack her, and she had been forced to Bubble the other Gem. Sapphire knew that this might happen, (Ruby _had_ mentioned it after all) but right now she was worried about her. It had been about 7 days (what Ruby called a week) since she had been dissipated. Sapphire made sure to keep her partner's Gem close so as to ensure no damage was caused to her while she was inside her Gem.

She hoped that the red Gem was alright in there. Obviously, Sapphire knew that she wouldn't be hurt, but that didn't mean that Ruby couldn't get lonely. She held her love's Gem in her hand, patiently waiting for her to reform. It was a good thing that she _was_ so patient, otherwise she thought that she might've gone insane. Checking her Future Vision, she saw that Ruby would come back soon, so she wasn't _that_ worried, but still. Suddenly the red Gemstone began to glow and lifted into the air. The blue Gem gasped and watched as her partner formed, before she was there. Ruby had changed her form. She now had full length long burgundy pants, her maroon shirt had stripes down the sides under her arms that were brown. And her shoes were also maroon.

 _(Sapphire's POV)_

Ruby floated down to the ground and took a reflexive breath of air, (even though she no longer needed to breathe) before looking up. When she saw me, her whole face broke out into a wide grin and she rushed up and wrapped her arms around me. "Oh I'm so glad you're alright Sapphire! I was worried something bad had happened to you after I my form was Dissipated!" Ruby exclaimed. I smiled in relief, she was okay! From what she'd told me, she'd never been dissipated before, so I was worried that something might have gone wrong during the regeneration process.

Suddenly my partner pulled away and frowned at me with concern, "are you okay Sapph? You're crying?" she asked, sounding worried. I reached up and touched the middle of my face, and sure enough, my gloved fingers came away wet. "Oh, so I am" I choked out. I tried to sound as calm and in control as I normally would, but my voice betrayed me when it came out wobbly and weak. Under Ruby's concerned look, I tried to control my emotions, locking my fingers together and standing up straight, but my lips wouldn't stop trembling and I could feel ice beginning to spread under my feet, "oh dear, I-I don't know what's wrong with me! You were only Dissipated, and I didn't even get worked up like this when you almost got Shattered that one time, I- why am I so?-" before I could finished, I felt my partners strong yet gentle arms wrap around my shoulders.

Ruby pulled me in for a kiss, causing the ice that was slowly beginning to engulf my form to melt from the intense heat suddenly radiating from her own. When she pulled back from the kiss, the smile she gave me was almost heart-breaking, "you missed me and you're emotions are feeling all mixed up as well, so you're not sure which emotion you should be feeling. It's okay to feel like that, and even normal, especially after something emotionally taxing. And as for wondering why you weren't feeling like this when I was almost Shattered- I guess this is just one thing that you can't help, emotions are often irrational, it's best not to dwell on it" she pulled me closer, "it's okay, I'm back now and I'm fine, so please don't worry anymore, okay?" Ruby asked. I sighed, wiping away my tears, "even if they are irrational, I'd still prefer to feel this way, than not being allowed to feel anything".

Ruby grinned brightly and nodded, "mhm".

 _(Ruby's POV)_

I wrapped my arms around Sapphire as she calmed down. I knew that I had to talk to her about what I'd remembered, not to mention talk to Pink. Things couldn't keep going on like this. Nothing would ever change without force behind it. I had to act on what I'd learned, so I could at least _try_ to fix things, like every person who'd ever dreamed of being in my place. Of course, those dreams had quickly turned to nightmares, during my time on Home World at least. Not to mention many times during this war. But I wanted us to be able to have a little time to relax and unwind. I knew that we both needed it. And Sapphire was right about emotions. Back on Home World, I either had been too afraid to show my true feelings on things or had to restrain myself in order to 1. Keep from getting hurt and 2. Get the Sapphire protection mission.

But now, here, on Earth and with Sapphire I was free. Free to feel and show how I really felt. And I'd never been more appreciative of my home planet. Both of us relaxed together for hours until we felt calm and safe. I had never seen Sapphire get so emotional, despite remembering her reaction to learning the truth about Rose in the series. I knew that after that, telling my Partner about our leader being Pink Diamond wouldn't be a good idea. I decided to talk to Pink and Pearl first. But first Sapphire needed my attention.

To Be Continued


	18. Chapter 18

At some point, we'd ended up on the floor, my arms still wrapped around Sapphire. My partner eventually calmed down and I released her. Sapphire took a deep breath and stepped back, clasping her hands together, "I'm sorry for that, I don't know why I suddenly felt so emotional Ruby" she replied. I smiled, "it's okay Sapphire, sometimes we just have to let it out, weather we're a human or a Gem" I replied. The blue Gem smiled and took my hands, "Ruby, dance with me!" she exclaimed, pulling me to my feet. I blinked, "you want to Fuse again?" I began, but Sapphire shook her head with a smile, "we don't have to Fuse, I just want to dance with you, that's all" she replied.

I smiled back, "alright, what kind of dancing do you want to do?" Sapphire thought for a moment, "why don't you choose this time?" she asked. "Okay then". I thought for a moment, then decided on doing The Macarena. I showed my partner the movements, before she let me know that she understood what we were doing. Despite how surprised I was that Sapphire was apparently being forward right now, I was actually enjoying being able to destress right now. As we danced, I relaxed, knowing that if I was too emotional, this conversation would go horribly. I shook my head. If I just focused on that, things would never go well. As we finished dancing, Sapphire wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. I was surprised, but that didn't mean I didn't enjoy the kiss.

When we pulled away, I smirked slightly, "well, someone's being awfully impulsive today" I remarked. My partner blushed violet. I grinned, "don't worry Sapph, I like you being impulsive just as much as I like you being meticulous and stoic," I replied slightly teasingly. I looked around, "why don't we go for a walk? Just the two of us, like we used to" I suggested. Sapphire smiled, "alright, I have missed going on walks with you, for so long it's been missions, fight, help take care of and protect Asami and Akatsuki- it's been a while since we've taken the time to do something just between us" she replied.

 ** _R_**

Sapphire and I walked through the forest hand in hand. Despite the amount of years between then and now, and how bad my memory was at times, neither of us needed help remembering the place where we Fused on purpose for the first time, not to mention, it was also where I'd told Sapphire the truth about myself. This clearing held many good memories for the both of us. Despite everything, I still couldn't help feeling nervous. What if Sapphire got angry? What if she told me our relationship was a lie, like in the cartoon? I shook my head. That wouldn't happen. Right? Soon we reached the clearing and sat down on the grass. I breathed deeply, trying to figure out how I was going to word this. I slowly reached out and took Sapphire's hand, staring into her one eye, even thought it was covered, "Sapphire, what I'm about to tell you might upset you, but there are reasons it happened and reasons those who knew didn't say anything. First, I had no memory of what I'm about to explain until I ended up in my Gem.

I was able to review my memories during my time there, and discovered something. Something huge. Sapphire, Rose- is," damn it, this was so hard to say. I was scared that if I told Sapphire, she'd hate me, but I knew that if I hid this from her, when she actually found out the truth, and that I knew but didn't tell her sooner, she'd be even angrier. I couldn't lie to my partner. Like the original Garnet said, relationships are based on communication. Without good communication, the whole thing falls apart. I closed my eyes, trying to will myself to speak, but fear had rendered me mute. Suddenly I felt a cool hand on my face. I opened my eyes.

Sapphire was staring at me with her eye uncovered, the look on her face honest and loving, "it's okay, I promise, whatever you say, I won't be upset, please just talk to me?" she asked, eye wide and sincere. I shuddered, before relenting, "okay" I replied softly. So I told her about what I had remembered, that more of my memories of the cartoon Steven Universe had come back to me after my form had been dissipated. I told her that it had been a long time since I had watched the series and that I had forgotten some when I had been a human. I told her that memories of these episodes had come back to me while I had been Reforming. Then came the moment of truth, "I hadn't remembered any of this before, so I couldn't say anything, but now, I want to tell you, I have to tell you- Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond" I began, clenching my fists in anticipation of the shouting to come.

When the blue Gem heard those words, her face went carefully blank. I shuddered, clenching my hands together and wringing my shirt anxiously. I was terrified that not only had I just damaged the time-space continuum so badly that it would implode the next second, but also that I would lose the only person I'd ever loved. Of course, logically I knew that nothing that bad would happen, but I wasn't thinking logically right now. I was just waiting for my partner to explode and our relationship to be over. It was way too quiet for many minutes, and as each one passed I could feel the storm getting worse. Eventually Sapphire spoke again, "why?" her voice was as blank as her face and I couldn't help but flinch when I heard it. Noticing this, my partner relaxed from her ramrod straight posture and let out a breath she didn't need to release.

"I'm not angry with you Ruby, just tell me why she lied this whole time" she asked, body relaxed, but voice and face still blank. I nodded, and began recounting Pearl's story from the episode 'Now we're only falling apart'. At the beginning of the story, I noticed the layers of ice that had begun to build up over the field, and had to withhold another shudder. I knew that Sapphire _was_ angry, despite what she said, even if it wasn't with me. She was angry, but was trying to stay calm for my sake. I couldn't help but feel a little more tension drain out of my form. At least she was willing to listen right away this time instead of becoming furious and storming off like in the episode. As I talked, the blue Gem began to relax, before melting all the ice over the course of the story.

When it was finished, I waited for Sapphire's reaction. I didn't know if having me tell this story instead of Pearl would mean that she wouldn't come to the same conclusion as to other Sapphire, and I also didn't know if explaining all this now meant that we wouldn't get married in the future, but I had hope that we would. Eventually at least. "I understand now" she said softly. I turned to look at Sapphire, holding my breath despite not needing to. "All this time, we thought we were following Pink, but she was following _our_ lead. _We_ were the one's who made her want to fight for other Gems, as well as humans. We were the ones who inspired Pink to make the right to love anyone you wanted one of the things the Crystal Gems fought for. It was always us. And Garnet."

 ** _R_**

Sapphire grinned then. The biggest, happiest grin I'd ever seen her give anyone including me. "Thank you for telling me all this Ruby, I really appreciate it" she said gratefully. I smiled tentatively, "so does this mean that you don't hate me?" I asked. "It means this" the blue Gem replied, before she leaned forwards and kissed me passionately on the lips. When she pulled away, I had starry eyes. Sapphire giggled, before I pulled her in for another deep kiss. As we moved closer to each other, wrapping our arms around each other and felt our love for the Gem in our arms increase, our Gems began to glow. Soon we were engulfed in a bright purple light. When it faded Garnet sat on the ground, absolutely glowing with happiness.

She grinned brightly, wrapping her arms around herself, so happy for her components. Eventually the euphoria died down, but never really went away. She stood up, a serious expression on her face, despite still feeling so warm and happy. Right now was a serious situation after all. Garnet headed back to our base. She needed to find Pink and Pearl. It was time to talk.

Garnet found Rose and Pearl going over the recorded movements of the Homeworld Gems. Rose looked up as she entered, "ah, Garnet, perfect timing, we need your advice. Come on over" the hidden Diamond said, turning back to her files. All three of us took a deep breath and let it out. _"Focus on what we're here for"_ I reminded. Garnet stepped up to her leader and Pearl, _"Rose, Pearl, we need to talk"_ she said clearly and loud enough to make both Gems look up from what they were doing. Rose frowned, staring up at the Fusion, before turning off the data projectors. "Garnet, what are you doing! We're in the middle of a very important-" Pearl began to rant, but was cut off as the Fusion fazed off her glasses and gave her a stern look.

The pink Gem stood up and walked around the table towards us, "what is it Garnet? Is something wrong?" Rose asked. "Ruby remembered some important information about the future from the cartoon while she was regenerating inside her Gemstone" Garnet began. Pearl frowned. Of course Rose had told her about Ruby formerly being a human woman, like Asami who had ended up replacing Ruby inside her body before she emerged back on Homeworld. And about her future knowledge as well, but whatever this conversation would be about, she had a feeling that it wouldn't turn out well. "We know about it, about all of it" Garnet began. Rose and Pearl froze, both thinking that the only thing the two partners wouldn't have known was the truth about Rose.

"The area is secure, I already checked before I came in." Garnet paused, then continued, "I know that you're really Pink Diamond Rose, and I know that Pearl belongs to you" the Fusion stated. At this point, Pearl's eyes were wide, and she was gripping the fabric of her skirt from her newest form in a grip that would have turned her knuckles white if they hadn't already been that colour. Her eyes kept darting from the shape-shifted form of her Diamond to Garnet and back again. Rose, for her part, said nothing, simply stared at Garnet calmly.

"And Ruby discovered this while she was recovering within her Gem?" she asked, voice even. Garnet nodded, "that's right". Rose sighed, "then I suppose there's no use keeping up this form then" she said. Her form turned to light, which shifted and grew slightly bigger. Her Gemstone shifted position, going from showing the top of it, to being an upside-down cut diamond. When her form stabilised again, Pink Diamond was fully revealed. Garnet shivered once with imbalance, but she took a deep breath and released it slowly. Pearl bowed to her Diamond, before Pink frowned, "Pearl, what did we talk about?" she asked. The lithe Gem straightened quickly, "sorry, habit" she replied, then awkwardly brushed some non-existing dirt from the table in front of her.

"So, what exactly did the Cartoon show happening when they revealed that I wasn't a Rose Quartz" Pink asked, turning back to face Garnet. She shook her head, "sorry, before that, it's really bugging me- why do you look like this when I met you on Homeworld before I came to Earth and you looked nothing like this, and how did you get to Earth before we did after you gave us the mission to protect Sapphire?" She (mainly I) asked. Pink smirked slightly, "well the Diamond's Ships are just a _little_ bit faster than those Roaming Eye's" she replied sarcastically. Garnet smiled slightly. "So if the revelation that I was Pink Diamond occurred in this TV show you watched, why didn't you say anything sooner?" Pink asked curiously. Garnet shrugged "Ruby forgot. It _has_ been a long time since she'd seen that particular episode" she replied.

"And to answer your first question, it showed you faking your Shattering" Garnet answered. Pink looked down in thought, while Pearl looked between them. Within Garnet's Psyche, I wrung my hands nervously, _"I hope we didn't just give her any ideas"_ she said. Sapphire shrugged, _"while I will agree that it was better to confront Pink about all this now, than later when she was already gone, I'm afraid that due to how large a change this is, my Future Vision is now showing me nothing but blanks. I can't predict how this will change things at the moment"_ she replied. I frowned, _"not helping Sapph!"_ I moaned. Now I was really worried. Pink Diamond suddenly looked up, drawing both Garnet and Pearl's attention, "what are we going to do now?" she asked. Garnet frowned, "well, the other Diamonds unleashed the Corruption bomb, blast, whatever you want to call it in response to thinking you'd been Shattered. So if you don't fake your Shattering, we probably won't have to worry about that" she replied.

"But I need to! Blue told me that the Colony would be completed as long as I rule here! I've tried everything else! They won't listen! I can't stop the colonization of Earth unless everyone thinks I'm gone!" Pink exclaimed. Garnet shook her head, "there has to be something else you could do! I've already lost very first friend from this life, please, I don't want to lose everyone else too!" I cried. Suddenly we unfused and I landed on the floor next to Sapphire. Everyone was silent as I picked myself up from the ground. I clenched my fists and eyes, tears streaming from them. My body shook with supressed sobs. I didn't know what to do anymore. Everything seemed so hopeless. It hurt. It hurt so much. I didn't even notice how my shaking got more violent with every second, or how my Gem started to pulse like a beating heart. Sapphire stood and tried to reach me, but I was radiating heat. So much so that the ground under my feet started to turn a molten gold colour. My tears steamed away from my face as I clenched my fists harder and harder.

I felt like how I did before I emerged from Home World's Kindergarten, like my body was being crushed. Suddenly a cracking sound caught my attention and my eyes widened as agonising pain engulfed my body. I screamed as the heat that had been steadily rising exploded to several levels higher than it had been. The rock under my feet turned to magma instantly, the heat too much for it to take. The very air around me practically exploded with the sudden rise in temperature. I fell to the ground, landing with a 'splash!' in the pool of magma. But even that heat was no match for the pain inside my body. My insides were burning and I couldn't control the fire. It engulfed my entire being, not to mention the Earth around me.

I didn't even notice when my body began warping. Last time had been nowhere near as bad as this. But maybe that had something to do with the fact that I had actually been using my Pyrokinesis this time. Either way I couldn't stand it! The only thing I could feel through the blinding agony was more agony. I wanted, needed it to stop. It hurt so much! I continued screaming until long after a normal human's throat would have gone hoarse. All thought, sight and sound faded from my senses. Their was only all-encompassing agony. I prayed that I would pass out soon. This was even worse than the one and only time I had been thrown into the crushing room on Home World. Worse than Gem Destabilisers. _'Someone, someone please- save me!'_ I thought. Suddenly there was a freezing cold sensation around me, and it was replacing the burning hot one.

As the fire dimmed I heard voices around me. Somehow, I managed to crack my eyes open the tiniest bit. I saw the blurry from of Sapphire, Pearl and Pink standing above me, before I had to squeeze them shut again. Just opening my eyes that far hurt. Soon I felt cold arms around me, causing me to flinch. As my body temperature readjusted to normal, the cold began to feel nice on my superheated skin. I felt soft, cold, gloved hands running over my face and moved closer to them, "Sapph" I whispered. "Ruby, oh thank goodness you're alright. You've been out for days" Sapphire said, sounding relieved. I blinked mentally, days? "W-wha-" I started, only to be cut off, "shh, just try to relax dear, everything's okay now" my partner replied. But I at least needed to know what had happened to me, so I tried again, "wh-wha-t happ" I tried, but was cut off by my body feeling like it was burning again.

"I told you to relax" Sapphire said, shifting me to a more comfortable position. "Sapph" I moaned, sounding every bit as awful as I felt. I heard my partner sigh above me, but her cold hands never stopped caressing my hot skin. "You became overwhelmed when we spoke to Pink and Pearl. You were so upset about her not being able to do much at the moment, do you remember that?" Sapphire asked. I hummed slightly, even that hurting my throat. "Well basically what happened is that your Gem got a stress fracture, but because you were already using your Pyrokinesis, you became unable to control it. You were pushing out such high amounts of heat that you turned the ground to Magma under your feet. You just kept getting hotter and hotter. Thankfully I was able to cool you down enough with my Cryokinesis that- Pink was able to use her healing Tears to fix your Gem without the water evaporating when you even got close. For now you need to take it easy, alright? Leaders orders" Sapphire explained, then went silent. Upon noticing her shaking lips and hands, I smiled slightly, "it's okay Sapph. You can cry if you want to" I rasped, bringing my hand up to her face, but it fell partway their.

Sapphire caught my hand and pressed it against her cheek, feeling the smooth cut of my Gem press into her body, "why do you always have to be so reckless when it comes to your own safety? Why can't you just- mph, get some rest Ruby, okay?" she asked. Normally I would have argued, would have continued asking if she was okay, if I'd hurt her or something. But I was so tired right now, that I could barely keep my eyes open. I soon fell into a cool, dreamless sleep.

To Be Continued


End file.
